Russia can start ground invasion of NATO countries without using nuclear weapons – Zelenskyy

Russia’s nuclear threats are unlikely to be serious, but Russia can indeed carry out a ground invasion of NATO member states, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Le Monde on March 11.

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“I don’t think that anyone who threatens to use nuclear weapons against such nuclear countries is serious, it’s just rhetoric,” the president said.

“It is possible that he (Putin) can carry out a ground intervention on NATO territory, he is capable of doing so, because there will be no nuclear response.”

He also expressed his belief that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will try to destabilize Kazakhstan as well in order to multiply the sources of destabilization around the world and strengthen his position in the negotiations.

“He doesn’t need to destroy a country: all he needs is to destabilize it and occupy a part of it,” Zelenskyy said.

On Feb. 29, during his address to the Federal Assembly, Putin began threatening to strike at Western countries. According to him, Russia has the necessary weapons. The dictator added that Russia’s strategic nuclear forces were allegedly on full alert.

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He also threatened that if NATO troops were sent to Ukraine, the Alliance would face “tragic consequences.”

The US criticized Putin’s recent statements about the possibility of a nuclear war.

On March 9, CNN analyst Jim Shutto, who spoke with two senior officials of President Joe Biden’s administration, said that at the end of 2022, the United States began serious preparations for the possibility that Russia could potentially strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons.

According to them, the White House at that time was particularly concerned that Russia might use strategic or tactical nuclear weapons.

According to the newspaper, the level of planning was unprecedented.

Following CNN, the New York Times also reported that for several weeks in October 2022, Joe Biden administration was seriously concerned about possibility of Russians using nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.

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