Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyj states that there are only two realistic ways to secure Ukraine’s future security: either full NATO membership or access to nuclear weapons.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Zelenskyj states:

– There are only two ways to protect Ukraine. Either we become a member of NATO, or we obtain nuclear weapons. These are the only real alternatives.

Zelenskyj justified the statement on the grounds that the security guarantee from the West is insufficient and that the pressure on Russia from the United States and Europe is too weak. Zelenskyj has previously been cautious about speaking of nuclear weapons, but now maintains that Ukraine must leave the grey zone in which the country is neither protected by NATO nor possesses its own deterrence capability.

He criticises those who doubt that Ukraine can emerge victorious from the war against Russia and laments that the war against Iran diverts attention from Ukraine’s war, particularly because it is a war in which the United States is participating.

Several Western politicians reject the idea of equipping Ukraine with nuclear weapons. Others interpret the statement as a tactical instrument of pressure in order to obtain faster NATO membership or stronger bilateral security agreements.