The head of state stated this in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, the fragment of which he shared on the X platform.
In response to Morgan's question about whether Ukraine has a backup plan if it cannot join NATO in the coming years, Zelensky began to discuss how the country could be defended.
“Will they give us missiles in such quantities that we could stop Russia? I am not sure. (…) And what missiles can stop Russia's nuclear missiles? This is a rhetorical question. Let’s put it this way — give us back our nuclear weapons,” said the Ukrainian president.
He also pointed out that in such a scenario, partners should provide missile systems, assist with financing a million-strong army, and send their contingents to “that part of our country where we want to have stability.”
It is worth noting that at the 2024 summit in Washington, NATO member states confirmed that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to joining the Alliance. Furthermore, allies acknowledged that the country is becoming operationally and politically increasingly integrated with the Alliance.
Before the summit, then-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance within the next 10 years. At the same time, Julian Smith, who was the U.S. Ambassador to NATO at that time, stated that the Alliance does not plan to invite Ukraine to join the bloc in the near future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that initially, NATO protection should cover the unoccupied territories of Ukraine. Other territories would be returned to Kyiv through diplomatic means.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ukraine is preemptively rejecting any security guarantee formats that may be offered as an alternative to the country's NATO membership.
At the same time, Bloomberg reported that during any potential negotiations with newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin will insist that Ukraine become a neutral state.