Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Putin will not survive a nuclear attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday it was “hard to say” whether the risk of nuclear war has increased with his military’s territorial gains, but he remains confident his Russian counterpart would not survive such an escalation in hostilities.

Zelenskyy spoke via video link outside the international think tank Lowy Institute in Sydney after the Ukrainian military last week retook land illegally annexed from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned he will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to deter Ukraine’s attempt to regain control of Moscow-held territories.

When asked whether the risk of Russian nuclear weapons use had increased, Zelenskyy said through an interpreter: “It’s hard to say.”

He questioned whether Putin had enough control over the Russian campaign to lead a tactical nuclear strike. Russians found it “difficult to control everything that happens in their country, just as they don’t control everything they have on the battlefield,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said Putin understood that the world “will never forgive” a Russian nuclear strike.

“He understands that after the use of nuclear weapons he will not be able to save his life, so to speak, and I am sure of that,” said Zelenskyy.