Kyiv [Ukraine], April 17 : Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the world to be prepared for the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, reported CNN.
Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN, said, “Not only me — all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried because it can be not real information, but it can be truth.”
“Chemical weapons, they should do it, they could do it, for them the life of the people, nothing. That’s why. We should think not be afraid, not be afraid but be ready. But that is not a question for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for all the world, I think,” the media outlet quoted him as saying.
This comes as the US officials have warned about the possibility of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine if backed into a corner.
“Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low yield nuclear weapons,” the media outlet quoted Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns as saying.
Meanwhile, comparing the losses of troops incurred by Ukraine to that of Russia, Zelenskyy claimed that as per Ukrainian officials, about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, however, Russia’s casualty numbers are 19,000 to 20,000. He added that about 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been injured in the war and it’s “hard to say how many will survive.”
Speaking on civilian casualties, he said, “It is very difficult to talk about civilians, since south of our country, where the towns and cities are blocked — Kherson, Berdyansk, Mariupol further east, and the area to the east where Volnovakha is — we just don’t know how many people have died in that area that is blocked”, according to the media outlet.
On February 24, Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (Agencies)
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