Zelenskyy did not ask NATO to strike Russia with nuclear weapons

CLAIM: A video shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that NATO “can use nuclear weapons on Russia” in order to deter Russia from using its own nuclear arsenal.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Erroneous English subtitles were added to a video of Zelenskyy discussing what NATO should do to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons. In his comments, Zelenskyy called for “preemptive strikes” against Russia, but English captions added to the video change his words to make it appear he specifically mentioned the use of nuclear weapons. Ukrainian officials later said that Zelenskyy was referring to preventive sanctions and armed aid.

THE FACTS: During an Oct. 6 video link discussion with the Sydney-based think tank Lowy Institute, Zelenskyy was asked what NATO should do to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons. He responded in Ukrainian that the alliance should “make it impossible for Russia to use nuclear weapons” through “preemptive strikes, so they know what will happen to them if they do.”

English captions were later added online to a clip of Zelenskyy’s answer to make it seem as though he was specifically advocating for a nuclear strike. Social media users have been sharing the clip in recent days as evidence of Zelenskyy’s alleged push for the use of nuclear weapons in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“What should NATO do? They can use nuclear weapons on Russia,” the erroneous subtitle on the video read.

A tweet that shared the video claimed: “I wonder, how the people giving Zelensky standing ovations and wanting to give him the Nobel Peace prize feel about this video, where their favourite ‘peacemaker’ lobbies for a nuclear holocaust.” As of Monday, it had received nearly 4,000 likes and more than 2,000 shares.

But Zelenskyy’s response to a question from Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove, who moderated the discussion, did not specifically mention nuclear weapons.

“What more do you want NATO to do to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons?” Lowy asked Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy responded that NATO should “make it impossible for Russia to use nuclear weapons” through “preemptive strikes, so they know what will happen to them if they do.” He also stressed that these tactics were as important as they were before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Zelenskyy’s press officer, Serhiy Nikiforov, said the day after the discussion that Zelenskyy was not suggesting that NATO should launch a preemptive nuclear attack. Instead, Nikiforov said, Zelenskyy was suggesting the alliance act proactively with additional sanctions as it should have done prior to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion.

Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak also refuted the notion that Zelenskyy was calling for nuclear strikes on Russia. He stated on Twitter that Zelenskyy’s reference to strikes meant that the West should step up sanctions and military aid to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in September that he won’t hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia’s territory. In October, he denied having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.