If Ukraine’s NATO accession process takes years or even decades, the country will need nuclear weapons and sufficient armament to defend itself against Russian aggression, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Piers Morgan.
During a conversation with the Ukrainian president, Morgan asked about Ukraine’s potential “Plan B”—a security framework strong enough to deter Russian ruler Vladimir Putin from another invasion.
The British host added that he believes that Putin did not invade Ukraine because of its NATO aspirations but simply sought to seize the country, regardless of his rhetoric about the protection of its borders from the Alliance’s enlargement.
However, given the Russian reasons for starting the all-out war, Morgan suggested that any future peace deal with Russia is unlikely to include Ukraine’s NATO membership due to Russian opposition.
Zelenskyy responded that NATO accession is “not for today, but for the future,” adding, “unfortunately, that decision is not ours to make.”
“If this process is protracted for years or decades, not because of us but because of our partners, then we have an absolutely just question: what will be defending us against this evil for this whole time, on this whole path? Which support package? Which missiles? Will we be given nuclear weapons?
Then, let them give nuclear weapons. Will they give us the missiles in quantities so we can stop Russia? I am not sure of that, but I think it would help. Otherwise, what missiles can stop Russian nuclear missiles? That is a rhetorical question,” said Zelenskyy.
Instead, the Ukrainian president suggested his plan to stop the war.
“Give us back nuclear arms. Give us missile systems. Partners, help us finance the 1 million army and move your contingent to the parts of our state where we want the situation’s stability so people have tranquility,” stated Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader emphasized that despite the fact that Ukraine is not in NATO today, Russian forces are still on Ukrainian soil.
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