Russia will not use nuclear weapons because it would lose its partners, including the United States and China, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on British businessman Steven Bartlett’s podcast, released Thursday. He added that using nuclear weapons in this war would create a dangerous precedent.
“After what they (the Russians – PAP) have already done, everyone thinks they could do something even worse,” Zelenskyy said on the podcast “The Diary of a CEO.”
“But I don’t think they would risk using nuclear weapons right now (…). I’m sure they would be left without allies, including countries such as America or China,” he added.
According to the Ukrainian president, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not agree to peace talks without pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy did not specify what format of peace talks he had in mind.
“Trump has to take the rhetoric he is currently using against me and direct it at Putin. On his desk are sanctions against Russia – and it wasn’t he who passed them, it was Congress (…),” he added.
Trump’s rhetoric toward Zelenskyy turned critical in September, when the U.S. president began saying that months of Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy sector, and the Ukrainian president himself, were to blame for high diesel prices on global markets, including at American gas stations.
A few weeks ago, Trump struck a deal with Putin for the immediate delivery of hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel to some world markets and to the U.S. in October and November, with increased deliveries in the following months. After the agreement was announced on Oct. 9, Trump moved to sharp criticism of Zelenskyy, blaming him for an alleged unwillingness to end the war. He accused Kyiv of giving Washington “nothing” in return for financial aid, and repeated accusations about the rise in global fuel prices.
According to Zelenskyy, this stance is a consequence of Trump’s failed attempts to bring about an agreement on an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. The Ukrainian president called the accusations directed at him over fuel costs “unfair.”
“President Trump cannot reach an agreement with Putin on this. Putin refuses him, and that is why the president (Trump – PAP) decided to put the blame not on Putin, but on me,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian attacks on refineries, terminals and other energy infrastructure in Russia have continued since March and, according to September data from the Defense Ministry in Kyiv, have led to the shutdown of 51% of the enemy’s refining capacity. The strikes have also resulted in a fuel crisis in Russia.
Global oil prices began rising after war broke out in the Middle East on Feb. 28. According to the New York Mercantile Exchange, the world’s largest commodity exchange, the price of a barrel of European Brent crude has since reached $100 or more, a record high since July 2022. (PAP)
