During an appearance, the Ukrainian President Selenskyj speaks about the nuclear threat from Russia. He is quoted as saying that NATO should have countered this with a "preventive strike" before the war began. Later he corrects himself - but outrage in Moscow can no longer prevent that.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has triggered outraged reactions from Moscow with a call for "preventive strikes" by NATO against Russia. While the Kremlin spoke of a call to start the "Third World War", Kyiv assured that Zelenskyi had been misunderstood during his video appearance in front of Australian opinion leaders on Thursday.
During an appearance at the Lowy Institute, Zelenskyj said that NATO "must rule out the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. But it is important - I am therefore turning to the international community as I was before February 24 - that these are preventive strikes, so that they know what comes to them when they use it." He emphasized: "Not the other way around: wait for hits from Russia and then say: 'Oh, you're like that, then you'll get it from us now.'"
Selenskyj's spokesman Serhij Nykyforow immediately emphasized that his demand had been misunderstood. The Ukrainian President only said that before February 24 - the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine - preventive measures were necessary to prevent the war.
In his speech, the Ukrainian President also refused to cede territory to Russia in order to appease Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and achieve peace. The aggressor should not be rewarded for starting the war, but must be defeated. According to the 44-year-old, Putin will not survive a nuclear attack on Ukraine.
The Kremlin sharply condemned Zelensky's statements. "Zelensky's statements are nothing more than a call to start World War III with unforeseeable, terrible consequences," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The Russian Foreign Ministry also heavily criticized Zelenskyj's statements.
According to Peskov, the United States and Britain are directing Kiev's actions. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that the West was initiating a nuclear war. "Every person on the planet needs to realize that the weapon-filled and unstable puppet Zelenskyy has turned into a monster with hands that can destroy the entire planet," she said.
