Lauren C. Moye, FISM News
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Friday, Kyiv denied that recent remarks made by President Volodymyr Zelensky about preventative strikes on Russia involved any implication that Ukraine endorsed the use of nuclear weapons or military strikes against Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
“Colleagues, you have gone a little too far with your nuclear hysteria and now you hear nuclear strikes even where there are none. The President spoke about the period until February 24,” Kyiv spokesman Sergii Nykyforov wrote on Facebook.
Nykyforov said that Zelensky’s Thursday comments were a reference to previous statements during the red-lining phase of the war, prior to Feb. 24, which called for preemptive sanctions to dissuade Russia from continuing its aggressive move west. He added, “To blackmail the world with explosions…and to hint at the use of nuclear weapons is afforded only by the terrorist state Russia. You will never hear such calls from Ukraine.”
Zelensky made the statement during a question-and-answer session following a speech made at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank. While this portion of the appearance has not been transcribed, it’s been widely reported that the Ukrainian president said NATO needed to “make it impossible for Russia to use nuclear weapons.”
“Preemptive strikes are needed so that they know what awaits them if they use nuclear weapons. Not the other way around, waiting for Russia’s nuclear strikes and then saying, ‘oh, you’ve done that? Then get this.’”
According to Ukrinform, a Ukrainian broadcasting platform, Zelensky also said “that NATO and the entire international community should review the procedure for responding to the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia.”
Zelensky also criticized the global response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimea Peninsula as being too soft and ineffective. He stated, “But this always happens: when a criminal does not receive an adequate punishment for a crime he has committed, he perceives it as permission for further criminal acts. ‘They are weak,’ is how the aggressor reacts when he feels no response.”
Kyiv is not the only government body walking back the top leader’s statements this weekend. Friday, during a short in-flight press gaggle, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there was no new U.S. intelligence suggesting that Russia intended to use nuclear weapons after President Joe Biden warned of a nuclear Armageddon in the war.
The use of nuclear weapons is only one risk of nuclear fallout that Ukraine faces as a result of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. This morning, Ukraine’s state nuclear company and a U.N. watchdog warned that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was on emergency diesel generators after shelling of the site cut the plant’s power line.
The plant’s safety systems “are operating normally,” however, the watchdog organization International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
The reactors within the plant need a constant supply of power to prevent a nuclear meltdown.
IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi called the continued shelling in the plant’s vicinity “tremendously irresponsible.” Both nations have blamed each other for the continued shelling.
Grossi has been in Kyiv this week and will travel to Russia next week in an effort to set up a security protection zone around the plant.
In recent weeks, the war has seen Ukraine make critical gains and strikes against Russian invaders. Most recently, Ukrainian soldiers have recaptured roughly 940 miles of territory.
Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70 years old with a low-key celebration that went largely unnoticed by the media. He marked his birthday by signing a decree to set up a new operator of the Sakhalin 1 oil and gas project in a clear attack against Western energy investment.
The previous operator of the project was Exxon Mobil Corp, but the company exited the development after the invasion began. This resulted in a $4.6 billion impairment charge.