According to Bild, a German tabloid/newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that they could have nuclear weapons within weeks. If NATO would quickly take Kyiv in as a member so it could be protected from Moscow, then any nuclear incident would be prevented.
"Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and then they will be our defense. Or do we have to enter into a kind of alliance? Apart from NATO, we do not know any effective alliances today," Zelensky allegedly said while in a conversation with Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump a few weeks ago, according to the news outlet's article which was translated from German into English.
Some other reports claimed that the Ukrainian leader even bragged about Trump agreeing with him on his warning of turning to nuclear options. But critics pointed out that the 45th POTUS only spoke about ending the war to avoid nuclear war, which is actually a direct contradiction of what Zelensky was claiming.
A few hours later, the Ukrainian leader denied his claim to have nuclear weapons ready as he admitted not having this weaponry. "We do not do nuclear weapons. Please. Do not spread these messages," Bild later reported Zelensky saying.
He supposedly wanted to present his "victory plan" to the heads of state and government of the European Union in Brussels. However, in the early afternoon, he shocked journalists present with this dramatic announcement that he later walked back.
Meanwhile, InfoWars reported that a high-ranking Ukrainian official specializing in arms procurement "hinted" to the German news outlet, politicians and officials a few months ago that the technical requirements to accomplishing this atomic goal are present.
"We have the material. We have the knowledge. If there is an order, we will only need a few weeks until the first bomb," the source allegedly said. "The West should think less about Russia’s red lines, rather than much more about our red lines."
Similarly, Infowars recently reported on Ukraine's "victory plan" which included a de-facto war with Russia. The plan included the demand to immediately join NATO and receive Western assistance to make Ukraine's offensive capabilities more powerful. This included access to foreign-made long-range weapons to strike Russia with.
The other points in the plan included: continued Ukrainian invasions of Russia, a "comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package," joint [Western] protection of the critical resources of Ukraine and Ukraine sharing its "battlefield experience" with Western countries to "strengthen NATO" against Russia. Three more points are classified.
Putin responds: Zelensky's claim on nuclear weapons if it could not join NATO was a "dangerous provocation"
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky's suggestion that Kyiv would seek nuclear weapons if it could not join NATO was a "dangerous provocation." He further vowed not to allow Ukraine to develop nuclear weapons under any circumstances.
"This is a dangerous provocation," Putin said at a meeting with journalists from the BRICS group of emerging economies. "Any step in this direction will be met with a corresponding reaction."
He added that it is not difficult to create nuclear weapons in the modern world, however he claimed that he is not aware whether "Ukraine is capable of doing it now. It is not so easy for Ukraine of today, but in general, there is no great difficulty here."
The Russian leader also warned that any attempt by Ukraine to develop nuclear weapons would lead to a serious response from Russia. (Related: Departing Russian ambassador to Washington warns of escalating U.S.-Russian tensions and rising risk of nuclear conflict over Ukraine.)
"We can trace any movement in this direction. It will not be possible to do it secretly," Putin emphasized, making it clear that Moscow is closely monitoring the situation.
Ukraine had the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. However, it gave up these weapons in 1994 after signing the Budapest Memorandum, which included security assurances from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The agreement required all signatories to respect Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.
Zelensky has previously criticized Russia for violating the Budapest Memorandum. He argued that Ukraine now sees NATO as its only path to ensuring national security, rejecting the idea of returning to nuclear weapons. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Ukrainian president clarified his earlier comments, saying, Ukraine "never said we are preparing to create nuclear weapons."
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