Ukraine: Zelensky calls on the world to “prepare” for a possible Russian nuclear attack

Europe 1 with AFP 6:47 a.m., April 17, 2022, modified at 6:48 a.m., April 17, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called on the world to "prepare" for Russia's possible use of its nuclear weapons, during an interview with several Ukrainian media.

"We shouldn't wait for the moment when Russia decides to use its nuclear weapons. We have to prepare for that," he said in the interview broadcast by six Ukrainian news sites, as well as by the Ukrainian presidency on Telegram.

We need "drugs (against radiation), air-raid shelters", he said.

"You have to talk to them, sign treaties, get tough economically. (The Russians) can use any weapon, I'm convinced of that."

“All countries should be worried”

On Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky had already judged that "the whole world" should be "worried" about the risk that Russian President Vladimir Putin, cornered by his military setbacks in Ukraine, will resort to a tactical nuclear weapon.

"Not just me, I think the whole world, all countries should be worried," he told CNN.

He echoed the statements to this effect of the head of American foreign intelligence William Burns who had estimated the day before that such a threat should not be “taken lightly”.

"We have not really seen any concrete signs such as deployments or military measures that could aggravate our concerns", however qualified the head of the CIA.

1,588 Russian nuclear warheads deployed

After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Kremlin briefly mentioned putting its nuclear forces on alert.

Moscow will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine only in the event of an "existential threat" against Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov then declared on CNN, without further details.

According to the highly respected

, Russia is equipped with "1,588 deployed Russian nuclear warheads", including 812 on land-based missiles, 576 on submarines and 200 on bombers.