Ukraine's President: Nuclear Power or NATO Alliance?

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky shared an interesting perspective at the European Council in Brussels. He mentioned that he had discussed with former U. S. President Donald Trump the possibility of Ukraine pursuing nuclear weapons if it doesn't get entry into NATO. Zelensky emphasized that their first choice is to join the 32-nation Atlantic alliance. He recalled that Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in 1994, expecting security guarantees from Russia, the UK, and the U. S. However, Zelensky feels that only Ukraine has suffered, as it was the only country to give up its nuclear weapons back then.

Before the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine had a significant nuclear stockpile, being third-largest in the world post-Soviet Union breakup. Zelensky and Trump had a meeting at Trump Tower in late September to discuss Ukraine's strategy against Russia. Trump shared that he learned a lot from Zelensky and that he has a good relationship with both Russia and Ukraine. He even claimed he could solve the war in 24 hours but didn't reveal his plan.

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