Ukraine "Will Seek Nuclear Weapons" if it Cannot Join NATO, Zelensky Says

Ukraine “Will Seek Nuclear Weapons” if it Cannot Join NATO, Zelensky Says

Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that Ukraine would seek nuclear weapons unless it is given NATO membership. The Telegraph has more.

The Ukrainian President told European Union leaders during a speech in Brussels that Kyiv needed a strong deterrent against Russia.

“Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, which will serve as protection, or it must be part of some kind of alliance. Apart from NATO, we do not know of such an effective alliance,” Mr. Zelensky said.

He added that Donald Trump agreed that it was a “fair argument” for Ukraine to seek atomic weaponry when the two leaders spoke in the United States.

Ukraine inherited the world’s third biggest nuclear arsenal, estimated at several thousand nuclear warheads, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 but, in a gesture of goodwill, surrendered them three years later.

Although Russia has threatened to fire a nuclear missile at Ukraine, this is the first time that Mr. Zelensky has discussed building similar capabilities.

He said that it had been a mistake for Ukraine to give up its nuclear missiles in 1994 after receiving security guarantees from Russia, Britain and the U.S., a view shared by most Ukrainians.

“Who gave up their nuclear weapons? All of them. Only Ukraine,” he said. “Who is fighting today? Ukraine.”

Kazakhstan and Belarus also surrendered nuclear weapons they inherited after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ukraine has four nuclear power stations and German magazine Bild quoted a Ukrainian official specialising in weapons procurement who said that Kyiv could build a nuclear missile.

“We have the material, we have the knowledge. If the order is given, we will only need a few weeks to have the first bomb,” he said. “The West should think less about Russia’s red lines and more about our red lines.”

Sources in Ukraine agreed that although there was an element of posturing and brinkmanship in the Ukrainian statements, they should still be taken seriously.

NATO has promised Ukraine membership of the Western military alliance but has not set a date, frustrating Mr. Zelensky who said “an immediate invitation to Ukraine to join NATO would be decisive” in the war against Russia.

One security source in Ukraine told the Telegraph that Mr. Zelensky and his Government were getting desperate.