Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned CNN on Friday that "all countries of the globe" should be prepared if Russian President Vladimir Putin uses tactical nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine.Putin may resort to nuclear or chemical weapons, Zelensky told CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview from the president's office in Kyiv on Friday.
"Not only myself, but the entire world, all of the countries," Zelensky remarked, switching from Russian to English to accentuate his point."Chemical weapons, they should and could use them; the lives of humans are meaningless to them. As a result "According to Zelensky "Not to be fearful, but to be prepared is what we should consider. But, in my opinion, that is not a subject that concerns Ukraine alone, but rather the entire world."Zelensky discussed the loss of a Russian ship, his military's casualties, and the emotional toll the conflict is taking on him and his people in the wide-ranging conversation.
As Ukraine's soldiers have rejected the Kremlin's attempts to grab Kyiv, Zelensky has remained in the country, forcing Russia to target its war efforts on the country's eastern and southern areas, where Ukraine expects a huge escalation of conflict in the days ahead. At the same time, Russia is launching cruise missiles into the environs of Kyiv and retains the ability to use long-range armament to attack Ukraine's capital.
Officials from the United States have cautioned that if Putin is forced to utilize tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, he may resort to using them. CIA Director Bill Burns said on Thursday that the agency is keeping a "close eye" on the prospect, but that the US has seen no signs that Russia is planning to do so."Given President Putin and the Russian leadership's probable desperation, given the military failures they've suffered thus far, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a possible recourse to tactical nuclear weapons or low yield nuclear weapons," he warned in public remarks at Georgia Tech.
One of Russia's most important military boats drowned in the Black Sea last week, with Ukraine claiming that it was the result of a missile strike and Russia claiming that it was the consequence of a fire caused by munitions detonation.
Two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the Moskva, according to a senior US defense officer, and the impact and subsequent sinking of the ship was caused by a Ukrainian missile, according to an American official. However, Zelensky was evasive when asked if Ukraine was involved.
"It no longer exists, as far as we know. It's a powerful weapon against our country for us, thus its sinking isn't a tragedy. That is something I want the rest of you to understand. The fewer weapons the Russian Federation has, the better for us. The less capable they are, the worse their situation becomes. It's critical."According to Zelensky, Ukrainian sources estimate that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian forces have killed in the conflict, compared to Russia's 19,000 to 20,000 deaths (Russia has acknowledged 1,351 military casualties). About 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been hurt, according to Zelensky, and it's "difficult to predict how many will live."
Civilian casualties, he explained, are more difficult to estimate."It's tough to talk about civilians because we don't know how many people have killed in the south of our nation, where towns and cities are closed — Kherson, Berdyansk, Mariupol further east, and the territory to the east where Volnovakha located," Zelensky added.
"It is a huge sadness for me," Zelensky said when asked about the heartbreaking films released this week depicting death and devastation in his nation, including a Ukrainian mom discovering her son's body in a well.
"As a father, I can't watch that because all you want after this is revenge and killing," he explained. "As the president of a state where many people have died and lost loved ones, and millions of people wish to live, I have to keep an eye on things."
He continued, "We all want to fight." "However, we must all do our part to ensure that this war does not drag on indefinitely." We would lose more the longer it goes on. All of these setbacks will be similar to that one."
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