"We have no alternative": Zelenskyy comments on statements about Ukraine developing nuclear weapons

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that Ukraine is not planning to develop its own nuclear weapons and urged not to seek hidden meanings in his statements.

He made this remark during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels.

"We have never said that we are preparing to create nuclear weapons. I mentioned that when the Budapest Memorandum was signed, Ukraine relinquished its nuclear arsenal, and Russia, China, and the United States assured us that we would receive guarantees of security, territorial integrity and sovereignty. That is what I said. It means we relinquished our nuclear weapons. And those who were our partners at the time were supposed to provide us with security guarantees," the President stated.

He added that despite the commitments made by the signatory states of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine has not received real protection when Putin began to occupy Ukrainian territories.

"Never in all these years, during the revolution, during the last ten years... This means that the Budapest Memorandum is not a good protection for us, it is not a real umbrella. Therefore, we have no alternative but NATO. That is our signal. But we are not developing nuclear weapons. Please do not change the meaning of the messages. Ukraine will be in NATO, and until then, we will do everything necessary for Ukraine to have what it needs to win," Zelenskyy said.

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