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Zelensky says he told Trump that either Ukraine will join NATO or pursue nuclear weapons

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Zelensky says he told Trump that either Ukraine will join NATO or pursue nuclear weapons
President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a press conference during the European Council Summit on Oct. 17, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 17 that he told Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in their meeting in September that Ukraine needs to be part of NATO, or it would pursue nuclear capabilities to protect itself.

Zelensky was speaking from Brussels, where he presented his victory plan to EU leaders.

"Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, which will serve as protection, or it must be part of some kind of alliance. Apart from NATO, we do not know of such an effective alliance," Zelensky said that he had told Trump.

"I believe Trump heard me and said that it was a fair argument," he added.

Zelensky also invoked the Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed in 1994 to give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K.

The agreement resulted in Ukraine losing its nuclear shield, Zelensky argued, while other powers that have maintained their nuclear arsenal have not suffered from a full-scale war.

At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that he would choose NATO membership over pursuing nuclear weapons.

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Nate Ostiller

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Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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