BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images
- Zelenskyy says that he does not think Vladimir Putin is "bluffing" about his nuclear threats.
- "Maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality," Zelenskyy told CBS's "Face The Nation."
- Last week, Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons as he announced plans to beef up Moscow's forces in his fight with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he does not think Russian leader Vladimir Putin is "bluffing" when it comes to his threats of turning to nuclear weapons amid the Kremlin's war with Ukraine.
"Maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality," Zelenskyy told CBS's "Face The Nation" in an interview that aired on Sunday. "I don't think he's bluffing."
Last week, Putin announced plans to partially mobilize hundreds of thousands of reservists to beef up Moscow's forces in the Russian president's fight with Ukraine.
He threatened the use of nuclear weapons as he said in a televised address to the nation that mobilization would begin immediately.
Putin accused the West of "nuclear blackmail," saying Western nations had encouraged Ukraine to shell the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
He also falsely said that officials in NATO countries had spoken "about the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia — nuclear weapons."
"To those who allow themselves to make such statements about Russia, I would like to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for some components more modern than those of the NATO countries," said Putin.
"And if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," Putin said. "This is not a bluff."
During his interview on CBS, Zelenskyy contended that Putin "wants to scare the whole world."
"These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail," said Zelenskyy. "I think the world is deterring it and containing this threat. We need to keep putting pressure on him and not allow him to continue."
Putin's announcement of a partial mobilization of troops comes as Russia suffers disastrous defeats on the battlefield amid the Kremlin's more than seven-month-long war with Ukraine.
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