Skip to content

Zelensky used talk with Trump about nuclear weapons as leverage before crucial US election, analysts say

Zelensky’s statement on nuclear weapons may be an effort to pressure the West to provide strong security guarantees.

by Oleg Sukhov November 5, 2024 9:43 PM 6 min read
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a news conference with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, US on Dec. 12, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Zelensky’s statement on nuclear weapons may be an effort to pressure the West to provide strong security guarantees.

by Oleg Sukhov November 5, 2024 9:43 PM 6 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

With Ukraine's future hanging in the balance ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, Ukraine’s president turned up the heat, invoking the specter of nuclear weapons to nudge whoever lands in the Oval Office toward offering more conventional weaponry and robust security guarantees to Kyiv.

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 17 that he had told ex-President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the election facing off against Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket, that Ukraine would either join NATO or develop nuclear weapons. Later the same day, he walked back that statement, saying that Ukraine was not planning to create a nuclear bomb as a deterrent against Russia’s full-scale invasion now in its third year.

"Zelensky mentioned nuclear weapons in order to call for further commitment by NATO countries, especially from the United States, for further support for Ukraine," Kazuto Suzuki, director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at the International House of Japan, told the Kyiv Independent.

"He might be thinking that Ukrainian resolve to possess nuclear weapons might give an additional reason for the new U.S. president, whoever is elected."

Zelensky’s talk about an atomic bomb comes just as fears mount that U.S. support for Ukraine could take a nosedive after the election amid Russia’s accelerating offensive in the Donbas, especially with the prospect of Trump, who has criticized aid to Ukraine, back in the White House.

Harris or Trump — Ukraine braces for best, worst-case scenarios as US elects new president
As Americans head to the polls on Nov. 5, Ukraine is nervously watching the elections being held by its top Western ally as the outcome could determine the country’s fate in its fight against Russia’s almost three-year-old full-scale invasion. The two candidates’ pre-election positions on continuin…

Pressure to boost weaponry supplies and open NATO’s door?

Zelensky's comment on nuclear weapons was a reference to his Sept. 27 meeting with presidential candidate Trump during a visit to the U.S.

Trump has praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and questioned further U.S. assistance to Ukraine. He has also promised to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, and there is speculation that he could pressure Kyiv to cede territory to Russia or agree to Putin's terms.

"I told Donald Trump: 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 in Brussels, where he presented his victory plan to EU leaders on Oct. 17.

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

Later the same day, Zelensky walked back his statement at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

"We never spoke about… preparing to create nuclear weapons or something like this," he said, adding that his comment referred to Ukraine giving up its nuclear arsenal in 1996 in exchange for the protection by three nuclear states, the U.S., the U.K., and Russia. The agreement is known as the Budapest Memorandum.

U.S. President Clinton, Russian President Yeltsin, and Ukrainian President Kravchuk after signing the Trilateral Statement in Moscow on Jan. 14, 1994.
Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with the Republic of Belarus'/Republic of Kazakhstan's/Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Presidents after signing the Trilateral Statement, Moscow, 1994. (L-R) U.S. President Clinton, Russian President Yeltsin, and Ukrainian President Kravchuk after signing the Trilateral Statement in Moscow on Jan. 14, 1994. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham, said that "Trump might be more susceptible to the idea (of Ukraine having nuclear weapons)” but “it's a non-starter whoever wins” in the U.S. election.

“I could certainly see (Trump) using the threat of allowing Ukraine to have nuclear weapons as part of whatever he thinks he will negotiate with Putin,” he added.

Some commentators argue that Zelensky's statement on nuclear weapons was just bluff and a tool of pressure.

"Clearly he was trying to get leverage with the U.S. and other NATO members for a stronger commitment to NATO membership for Ukraine, but regarding the U.S. election specifically he seems to be trying to position himself to have a decent relationship with whomever wins," Lynn Rusten, vice president at the U.S.-based Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Global Nuclear Policy Program, told the Kyiv Independent.

Editorial: When casting your vote in the US, think about Ukraine
As Americans cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 presidential election, we, the staff of the Kyiv Independent, ask voters in the “beacon of democracy” to consider once again why the iconic Statue of Liberty stands on an island in New York Harbor. It was gifted to the U.S.


Claus Mathiesen, a lecturer at Denmark's Defense Academy and a former military attaché in Ukraine, said that several countries are considering acquiring nuclear weapons amid uncertainty over post-election U.S. policy and the possibility of the U.S. reducing its commitment to NATO if Trump is elected.

Meanwhile, Jenny Mathers, a lecturer in international politics at the U.K.'s Aberystwyth University, believes that “Zelensky's original statement may have been designed to shock Ukraine's Western supporters into realizing that Kyiv does need a more robust form of security guarantee than the ‘as long as it takes’ that the West has been offering so far.”

She said that Zelensky’s statement could “jolt (the West) into changing their perception to regard offering NATO membership to Ukraine sooner rather than later as the less risky of the possible futures facing the world."

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and former U.S. President Donald Trump meet during Zelensky’s visit in New York City, US, on Sept. 27, 2024.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meet in New York during the President of Ukraine's visit to the United States in New York City, US on Sept. 27, 2024. (Uliana Boichuk/Novyny LIVE/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

According to Wolff, "the debate indicates a certain level of desperation and resignation in Kyiv caused by the lack of Western follow-through on the tough, but often empty rhetoric frequently on display.”

An analyst and diplomat working for the U.S. government told the Kyiv Independent that Zelensky's statement had already had an impact on Ukraine's Western partners. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Although Western allies don't see a Ukrainian nuclear program as realistic, the diplomat added, they understand Zelensky's message that the situation is desperate and that Ukraine needs security guarantees.

"Zelensky's message is clear," he said. "The West actually gets this. Before September, an invitation to NATO had not been considered. But now the topic of inviting Ukraine to NATO is back on the table."

14 essential Kyiv Independent stories about the US presidential election
Voting in arguably one of the most consequential elections of modern times is set to conclude on Nov. 5, as U.S. citizens will pick their country’s 47th president. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump enter the home stretch neck-and-neck, according to recent polls,…
Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.