Ukraine threatens to purchase nuclear weapons: “How else can we defend ourselves?” | Abroad

“We are either part of an alliance like NATO and contribute to the strengthening of Europe, or we have only one option: arm ourselves,” said the ambassador. He pointed out the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons.

Ukraine has been trying to join NATO for years, but talks about it have always been rejected. The country was once a major nuclear power, but the former Soviet Republic gave up its nuclear arsenal in 1994 after security guarantees from the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Rising tensions

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have recently risen again, partly due to the build-up of large concentrations of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and in Crimea, a Ukrainian area annexed by Moscow in 2014. The Russian mobilization is taking place against the background of a resurgence of violence between the Ukrainian government army and the Russian-backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

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