Inna Andalitskaya20:30, 27.01.25

“We have exchanged nuclear weapons for war,” the president emphasized.

Ukraine should not have given up its nuclear weapons , but if we were forced to do so, then we should have exchanged them for real security guarantees, namely, NATO membership.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with Italian journalist Cecilia Sali for the newspaper Il Foglio , speaking about meetings with US President Donald Trump, where they discussed ensuring that Russia does not return to war in Ukraine.

“We talked about the Budapest Memorandum. And he heard my position – my position certainly differs from loyalty to some steps. I believe that this should not have been done to Ukraine or Europe, to be honest. Because Ukraine was giving up nuclear weapons,” the head of state noted.

Zelensky noted that in his opinion, it should not have been given away.

“But even if they decided, and the policies of America and Russia were united in this at the time, and forced Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons, then I think that it is simply at least dangerous to exchange it for nothing. It was necessary to exchange it for real security guarantees. And then it was only NATO. To be honest, even today it is only NATO. That is, if I were to exchange nuclear weapons, I would exchange them for something very strong that can really stop any attacker, regardless of his greatness, his territory, his army, and so on. And this is a strong army and the Security Bloc (NATO). Therefore, I think it was stupid. Absolutely stupid, illogical and very irresponsible to change it like that,” Zelensky said.

According to him, at that time we were really influenced by big countries, big economies, and it was not easy to refuse.

“But you have to be able to refuse. By the way, especially if you are in a position like the president of a particular country,” the Ukrainian president emphasized.

According to Zelensky, he spoke about all this at a meeting with Trump.

“I told him that we exchanged it for nothing, we exchanged nuclear weapons for war. It started later, but it really did start for war. And he said that he understood what I was talking about. I brought what I saw as an alternative – this is a plan to strengthen Ukraine, a package of appropriate weapons, appropriate missiles that can act preemptively to prevent Russia from returning with war if we stop the war. This is a strong position for Ukraine – this is a package of weapons. I asked what other alternative there is to a strong army and NATO. I just don’t know,” Zelensky said.

He is convinced that Trump, with his influence, can ensure a strong position for Ukraine.

“Thanks to sanctions, the strength of the United States, the economy – he can speed it up, he can do it faster than anyone else in the world, in my opinion. From the point of view of the army, the economy, America’s influence on the world economy and his personal characteristics, I believe that he can definitely influence this faster than others. I honestly believe that China also has a lot of influence, but the United States is bigger,” Zelensky said.

(C)UNIAN 2025