The US special representative reacts to Zelenskyʼs idea to return nuclear weapons to Ukraine

The US Special Representative for the Russia-Ukraine War Keith Kellogg has reacted to Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs comments that Ukraine should return its nuclear weapons if the countryʼs accession to NATO is delayed. The American official rejected this development.

He said this in an interview with Fox News.

"The chances of them getting their nuclear weapons back are somewhere between slim and zero. Letʼs be honest about it, we both know thatʼs not going to happen," Keith Kellogg said.

According to him, the US President Donald Trump stated that the new American government would have common sense.

Therefore, Kellogg says, when someone says something like this, itʼs common sense to look at the outcome and potential consequences.

What preceded

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on February 5 that the fastest way to move to a diplomatic resolution of the war is to guarantee Ukraineʼs accession to NATO today. If accession is delayed, Ukraine must return its nuclear weapons.

“Will they give us missiles in such quantity that we can stop Russia? I’m not sure. [...] And what missiles can stop Russia’s nuclear missiles? This is a rhetorical question. Let’s do it this way then — give us back our nuclear weapons,” Zelensky said.

• This is not the first time that we have discussed joining NATO as a security guarantee or nuclear weapons as an alternative to Ukraineʼs membership in the Alliance. On October 17, 2024, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that "either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, or we must be in NATO". He added that "we choose NATO, not nuclear weapons".
• Zelensky said that Ukraine does not want to return nuclear weapons, but in exchange for this it should receive a “security umbrella” — that is, NATO membership. He also insisted on this during his conversation with Donald Trump.
• Some foreign media outlets, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, including BILD and The Times, wrote last fall that Ukraine could create nuclear weapons in a short time: the media versions differed, but it was about weeks or several months. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied this.

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