PRESS RELEASE : Even the public mention of the possible use of nuclear weapons by the leadership of the nuclear state should be the basis for preventive sanctions – Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 11 May 2022.

If the leader of a nuclear state publicly accepts the use of nuclear weapons by his country, this should be a reason for severe response and preventive sanctions, as it violates international agreements. This was emphasized by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during online communication with students of leading universities in France, representatives of academia and the media.

The Head of State reminded that he had repeatedly raised the issue of threats of using nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation, in particular at the Munich Security Conference in February this year, shortly before the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The President noted that Russia is not the only one in the world to voice such threats, and the worst thing is if it uses not only threats, but also its nuclear capabilities, as this will be a signal to everyone that this is possible.

“Therefore, I believe that there should be preventive sanctions. If a person talks about it in the media, if he or she says it publicly and threatens to use nuclear weapons in case… Then it is not even interesting what this person says. In case of what? Such ultimata are not worth attention at all. This indicates that any agreement on the non-use of nuclear weapons has already been discredited,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

According to him, such discrediting occurred after Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum and after public threats to use nuclear weapons.

The Head of State is convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin is primarily responsible for this situation.

“Because not everyone in Russia stands in favor of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine or the world. I’m sure of it. There are many people who support both Ukraine and the civilized way of resolving any military conflicts, and support peaceful settlement. But, unfortunately, due to the information policy, their percentage in Russia is getting smaller and smaller,” he said.

The President of Ukraine also noted that he fully supports the approach to the need for nuclear disarmament.

“If we do not control the violation of international law by a nuclear state, it means that we do not control the future, even the possible use of a nuclear weapon. And if we can’t do that, we need to raise the issue of abolishing the possibility of using certain weapons, the availability of these weapons in a particular state. This is the only way out,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.