President Donald Trump’s envoy to the war in Ukraine firmly rejected Kiev’s request for nuclear weapons. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said that Kiev needs NATO membership or nuclear weapons.
In an interview on Fox News, retired General Keith Kellogg said, “The chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none. Let’s be honest about it, we both know that’s not going to happen.”
Trump’s envoy to the conflict was responding to remarks made by Zelensky in an interview with Piers Morgan that was released earlier this week. Zelensky said, “So let’s do it the following way. Give us back nuclear arms. Give us missile systems. Partners, help us finance the one million [man] Army. Move your contingent on the parts of our state where we want.”
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded sharply to Zelensky’s remarks. “Such statements and remarks, in general, border on madness. There is a non-proliferation regime for nuclear weapons, among other things,” he said.
Under President Joe Biden, Washington encouraged Kiev to forego a diplomatic settlement in the war with Russia, and pledged to give Ukraine “as much as it takes for as long as it takes.” However, Kiev never had the ability to drive Russian forces from Ukrainian soil, as senior Biden officials have since admitted.
Now, Kiev is in a far weaker position than it was in April of 2022, as it is completely reliant on Western support to continue the fighting. While Kellogg refused to say if Trump would halt weapon shipments to Ukraine, he argued that “as much as it takes for as long as it takes.” is a slogan, not a policy. He went on to say Trump would pressure both Kiev and Moscow to come to the table.
