Ukraine wants nuclear weapons if not allowed into NATO

On February 4, President Zelensky had an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan about many issues related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Mr. Zelensky called on the US to provide alternative security guarantees to Ukraine such as nuclear weapons if it is not ready to accept the country into NATO, according to The Kyiv Independent .

President Zelensky in an interview in Kyiv on February 1

"What kind of support package, what kind of missiles? Will they give us nuclear weapons? Then let them give us nuclear weapons," Mr. Zelensky said of the alternative to joining NATO.

Ukraine has applied to join NATO, and the alliance last year pledged that Kyiv’s path to membership would be “irreversible.” However, many NATO members, including the United States, Germany and Hungary, oppose the idea.

In the interview, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine has lost 45,100 soldiers in the nearly three-year conflict. He said that there were about 390,000 cases of wounded soldiers, but the actual number of wounded was lower because many were wounded multiple times.

In February 2024, Mr. Zelensky estimated that the Ukrainian military had lost 31,000 soldiers. In December 2024, he revealed that the total number of soldiers killed was 43,000.

Russia reacts to Ukrainian President's statement

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the call to supply nuclear weapons to Ukraine "close to madness" on February 5, according to TASS. "Such statements and all similar statements are close to madness. There is a regime of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," Peskov said.

In 1994, Ukraine, Russia, Britain and the United States signed the Budapest Memorandum, under which Ukraine gave up its entire Soviet-era nuclear arsenal while the other three countries made security commitments to Kyiv.

Russia's military campaign has reignited discussions about whether Ukraine should develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent, although the country has stressed that joining NATO is its best security guarantee and has no plans to rebuild its nuclear arsenal.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ukraine-muon-vu-khi-hat-nhan-neu-khong-duoc-vao-nato-185250205185508583.htm