Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN on Friday that “all countries of the world” must be prepared for the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly using nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine. Zelensky told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview with the president’s office in Kyiv on Friday that Putin could turn to either nuclear or chemical weapons because he does not value the lives of the Ukrainian people. “It’s not just me – the whole world, all countries have to worry because it may not be true information, but it may be true,” Zelensky said in English. “Chemical weapons, they should do it, they could do it, for them human life, nothing. That’s why,” Zelensky said. “We have to think not to be afraid, not to be afraid but to be ready. But this is not an issue for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for the whole world, I think.” Zelensky remained in Ukraine throughout the 50-day war with Russia, as Ukrainian forces resisted the Kremlin’s efforts to occupy Kyiv and forced Russia to refocus its military efforts on its eastern and southern territories. country, where Ukraine expects a significant escalation of fighting in the coming days. One of Russia’s most important warships sank in the Black Sea this week, which Ukraine said was the result of a rocket attack, while Russia claimed that it was due to a fire from an ammunition explosion. At the same time, Russia is launching cruise missiles on the outskirts of Kiev and still has the ability to target the Ukrainian capital with long-range weapons. US officials have warned of the possibility that Putin, if left in a corner, could turn to the use of regular nuclear weapons in Ukraine. CIA Director Bill Burns said on Thursday that the CIA was watching “very closely” the possibility, while stressing that the US has not yet seen signs that Russia is preparing to take such a step. “Given the potential despair of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the military failures they have faced so far, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a possible recourse to regular nuclear weapons or low-efficiency nuclear weapons,” he said. in public remarks at Georgia Tech. See an excerpt of the interview here. You can see more from the interview on “The Lead” at 4 p.m. ET and the full interview will air on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET in “State of the Union”.
