Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned on Wednesday he didn’t imagine the world would permit Vladimir Putin to make use of nuclear weapons and vowed to press on with liberating Ukrainian territory captured by Russian forces.
Zelenskiy was talking to Germany’s BILD TV in an interview printed hours after the Russian president introduced a partial mobilisation and warned that Moscow would reply to what he known as the West’s “nuclear blackmail”.
It was Russia’s first such mobilisation since World War Two and signified the most important escalation of the Ukraine conflict since Moscow’s invasion in February.
“I don’t believe that he (Putin) will use these weapons. I don’t think the world will allow him to use these weapons,” Zelenskiy mentioned, in response to a textual content printed by the newspaper.
“Tomorrow Putin can say: apart from Ukraine, we also want a part of Poland, otherwise we will use nuclear weapons. We cannot make these compromises.”
Ukraine has recaptured swathes of its territory after a lightning counter-offensive in current weeks, inflicting mounting casualties on Russian troops.
Putin’s mobilisation has are available response to Russia’s failings on the battlefield, Zelenskiy mentioned.
“He sees that his units are simply running away,” Zelenskiy mentioned, including that Putin “wants to drown Ukraine in blood, including the blood of his own soldiers”.
Zelenskiy additionally dismissed plans by 4 Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to carry referendums on Sept. 23-27 on becoming a member of Russia, saying they have been a “sham” that might not be recognised by most nations.
“We will act according to our plans step by step. I’m sure we will liberate our territory,” he mentioned.
