Ukraine’s leader Vladimir Zelensky has denied the country has been seeking to develop nuclear weapons, contradicting statements he'd made earlier in the day.
Zelensky made the remarks on Thursday during a joint press conference with newly-appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels, Belgium. Asked about Ukraine’s potential aspirations to go nuclear, he flatly denied them.
“Sometimes we create ourselves problems. Now you began to do it. So, we never spoke about that we are preparing to create a nuclear weapon or something like this,” Zelensky stated.
“That’s why I said I don’t have an alternative except NATO. That was my signal, but we don’t do nuclear weapons. Please don’t move these messages,” he added.
The remarks appeared to contradict a statement made by Zelensky earlier in the day, when the Ukrainian leader claimed the country has only two options to ensure its security – either to join NATO or go nuclear.
“Speaking to Donald Trump, I told him, ‘What is the way out for us?’ Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and they will serve as protection, or we need to be in some kind of alliance. We don’t know any effective alliances except NATO,” he said, adding that Kiev has chosen to become a NATO member.
Ukraine has long claimed it had previously been among major nuclear powers, with its arsenal surrendered under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. The document involved the US, UK, and Russia extending security assurances to Kiev in return for the removal of the weaponry. However, Kiev was never actually in control of the nuclear weapons, which were the leftovers of the Soviet arsenal that ended up in Ukrainian territory after the collapse of the union.
Zelensky had previously repeatedly invoked the nuclear weapons issues, openly expressing regret over Kiev’s decision to surrender the arsenal shortly before the conflict with Russia broke out in February 2022. At the time, he claimed the country had “every right” to reverse the decision and go nuclear.