Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, said on Thursday that it was “impossible to say” whether his military’s territorial gains had raised the chance of nuclear war, but he is still certain that his Russian counterpart would not survive such an escalation in hostilities.
Zelenskyy was speaking at the Lowy Institute, a global think tank, via video link after Ukraine’s forces reclaimed territory that Russia had illegally invaded last week.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has threatened to use nuclear weapons without hesitation to thwart any efforts by Ukraine to retake territory that has been taken by Moscow.
When asked if there was a greater chance that Russia would use nuclear weapons, Zelenskyy replied, “It’s hard to say,” through an interpreter.
He questioned whether Putin had sufficient authority over the Russian offensive to order a nuclear strike. According to Zelenskyy, the Russians “find it difficult to control everything that is happening in their nation, just as they are unable to control what they have on the battlefield.”
Putin, according to Zelenskyy, is aware that a nuclear attack by Russia would be unforgivable by the entire world.
Zelensky added, “He recognizes that after the use of nuclear bombs he would no longer be able to save, so to speak, his life
