Putin Laying Groundwork For Possible Nuke Attack: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russian society is being prepared for the use of nuclear weapons, Chanel Zasgon and Berny Torre reported for the UK’s The Telegraph.

Photo Insert: Zelensky also denied having recently called for "pre-emptive strikes" on Russia to prevent tactical nuclear strikes.

He told the BBC: "They begin to prepare their society. That’s very dangerous. They are not ready to do it, to use it. But they begin to communicate. They don’t know whether they’ll use or not use it. I think it’s dangerous to even speak about it."

Zelensky also denied having recently called for "pre-emptive strikes" on Russia to prevent tactical nuclear strikes, saying his calls for pre-emptive sanctions had been mistranslated and urged the world to act now as Russia’s threats were a “risk for the whole planet.”

The White House has played down President Joe Biden's "Armageddon" warning over the war in Ukraine, saying it had no indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons, as what the Washington Post and CNN reported on Oct. 7.

Biden said the risk of a nuclear “Armageddon” is at its highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, adding that Vladimir Putin was “not joking” over using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Asked about Biden’s comments, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said: "He was reinforcing what we have been saying, which is how seriously... we take these threats."

French President Emmanuel Macron has said, "we must speak with prudence" after US President said there was a risk of nuclear "Armageddon" in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We must speak with prudence when commenting on such matters," Macron told reporters at the end of a European Union summit in Prague, The Telegraph reported.

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