Russia's nuclear blackmail born of sense of impunity – Zelensky at Chatham House

KYIV. May 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking via video link at the Chatham House analytical center, expressed confidence that Russia’s nuclear blackmail is born out of a sense of impunity.

"The challenge is, in fact, nuclear blackmail. For the first time in many decades. Absolutely frank. Russian state propagandists use their media resources to calculate how long it will take for nuclear missiles to hit the capitals of Europe. They talk about it publicly, frankly. They tell how to detonate nuclear charges in the ocean so that everything on the British Isles is washed away by a radioactive wave. They prepare infographics, that is, they take this seriously. They brag that Russia can destroy any state in ‘nuclear ash.’ Moreover, ‘nuclear ash’ is their quote, which they repeat like a mantra," Zelensky said.

This happens, according to the head of state, for the reason that Russia is confident in its impunity.

"They are used to the fact that business, as usual, always returned to the relations of all states with Russia. And even now in Europe there are politicians who are not shy about ties with the Russian state after everything that the Russian army has done in Ukraine," he stressed.