Zelenskyy questions NATO accession delays, suggests nuclear arms as possible alternative

Ukraine should get nuclear weapons if NATO accession delays persist due to partner nations, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.

"If this process takes years or decades not because of us but because of our partners, we have a just question: what will protect us from this evil throughout this journey? What support package, what missiles? Will we be provided with nuclear weapons? Then let them give us nuclear weapons," the head of state said.

He further inquired whether Ukraine would receive enough missiles from partners to deter Russia, adding that nuclear weapons remain the most effective deterrent against such threats.

In addition to raising the prospect of nuclear arms, Zelenskyy called for alternative measures, including financial aid to sustain a million-strong army and deploying allied troops in Ukraine.

In December 2024, Jake Sullivan, then-national security advisor to President Joe Biden, stated that the U.S. administration had no plans to return nuclear weapons to Ukraine.

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously mentioned that Russia had seriously considered a nuclear strike, but China strongly opposed the move.