Ukraine needs NATO because we have no weapons that can stop Putin - Zelenskyy
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled Ukraine's decision to abandon nuclear weapons. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of adequate security guarantees during a meeting with journalists.
Zelenskyy notes that Ukraine gave up its entire nuclear arsenal many years ago, hoping to join NATO.
“We gave away all our nuclear weapons at one time. It was many years ago. We should have exchanged them for NATO. This is my opinion. I shared it with Biden and with Trump. That's why I said I can't understand where the justice for Ukraine is,” the President says.
He emphasizes that Ukraine gave up its weapons but did not receive the promised security.
“We gave away nuclear weapons. We did not get NATO. And can you, I asked them, can you tell me other allies or another security umbrella or something like that, some security measures and guarantees for Ukraine that will be commensurate with NATO. No one can tell me. So these are my arguments,” Zelenskyy adds.
The President also made it clear that Ukraine is not asking for the return of nuclear weapons, but needs to join NATO to be able to defend itself against Russian aggression.
“We gave it away but received nothing in return. And we got only a full-scale war and many victims, so today we have only one way out. That's why we need NATO because we don't have the weapons that can stop Putin,” Zelenskyy concludes.
Ukraine's accession to NATO
Ukraine's accession to NATO is a key goal of its foreign policy, which has become even more important since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine's invitation to join the Alliance and future membership are real steps towards peace.
