The Minister of Defense denied that the West was pushing Ukraine towards negotiations against the background of the nuclear threat

The West does not encourage President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to negotiate with Russia against the background of the nuclear threat.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, said this in a comment to Babel.

"There is no such thing on the part of our partners, no one is pushing or forcing us to negotiate. They only offer is their mediation if necessary," the minister emphasized.

He also commented on the statement of the Main Intelligence Directorate representative about the "very high risk of a tactical nuclear strike".

"We have to understand that we have an inadequate neighbor. Even when they planned the invasion, it was hard to imagine that Russia would bomb the civilian population, schools, hospitals, kindergartens, and other social institutions. "Bunker disease" has already spread widely, so the threat of a nuclear attack should be considered quite adequately," the minister said.

According to him, Main Intelligence Directorate should inform people about such a threat.

"We have many people who joined the defunct party of those who ended the war. But the war is not over, it is bloody, and we are losing people every day. The enemy is very wild, complex, and they have a huge resource; this must be understood," explained Reznikov.

He added that after Bucha, Irpin, Balaklia, and Mariupol, Ukraine will not be frightened by the use of nuclear weapons.

• After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin, representatives of the Russian government, and propagandists repeatedly hinted that Russia could use nuclear weapons. On September 21, Putin threatened nuclear weapons in the event of an attack on the Russian Federation. In fact, he hinted at the possibility of nuclear strikes if the Armed Forces continue to liberate the occupied territories that Russia wants to annex based on the "results" of pseudo-referendums.
• The USA warned the Russian Federation of "devastating" consequences and a response.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the nuclear threat from the Russian Federation may become a reality, so it should be taken seriously. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the same. She urged not to consider Putinʼs words a bluff.
• On September 28, Politico wrote that the United States has significantly increased surveillance of Russiaʼs nuclear weapons.