Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “all countries in the world” should be concerned that Russia may turn to nuclear weapons as the war in Ukraine approaches its third month.
“Not just me – the whole world, all countries need to be concerned,” Zelenskyy said when asked by CNN on Friday if he was concerned that Russia might use a tactical nuclear bomb. “Because it can’t be real information, but it can be the truth.”
Zelenskyi said he could see the use of chemical or nuclear weapons because “to them, people’s lives are nothing. We shouldn’t be afraid, be ready, but it’s not just a question of Ukraine,” he said. “[It’s for] the whole world. I think so.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
US officials have accused Russia of war crimes in its invasion, which began on February 24. Last week, Amnesty International released a report detailing Russian forces executing Ukrainian civilians “extrajudicially” and repeatedly engaging in “unlawful violence.” including in the city of Bucha – where evidence of torture and beheadings has been uncovered in recent weeks.
“Testimonies show that unarmed civilians in Ukraine are being killed in their homes and streets in acts of unspeakable cruelty and shocking brutality,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in the report, adding: “The premeditated killing of civilians is one human rights abuse and a war crime. These deaths must be thoroughly investigated and those responsible brought to justice, including up the chain of command.”
On Thursday, CIA Director William Burns said that “potential desperation” could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to turn to nuclear weapons, but noted that he had not seen “much practical evidence”.
“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks they have faced militarily to date, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by the possible resort to tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons .” Burns said at an event at Georgia Tech. “Although we have seen some rhetorical antics from the Kremlin regarding the move to higher nuclear alert levels, we have not yet seen much practical evidence of the type of operations or military dispositions that would heighten these concerns. We pay very close attention to that.”
The story goes on
NBC News reported last week that the Biden administration is using declassified information — while not “rock solid” — to “undermine Moscow’s propaganda and prevent Russia from defining how the war is perceived around the world.”
A woman pushes her bicycle in front of a destroyed apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine, April 9. (Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
“It doesn’t have to be solid intelligence agencies when we talk about it,” said a US official. “It is more important to forestall them – especially Putin – before they do anything. It’s preventative. We don’t always want to wait until intelligence is 100% sure they’re going to do something. We want to advance to stop them.”
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry promised to launch further attacks on Kyiv after the sinking of its naval flagship, the Moskva, in the Black Sea. Russia also sent a diplomatic note to the Biden administration warning the US not to continue arming Ukraine’s military, lest it face “unpredictable consequences for regional and international security.”
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