{"id":1678344,"date":"2022-10-07T13:52:45","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T17:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1678344"},"modified":"2022-10-07T13:52:52","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T17:52:52","slug":"ukrainian-government-tries-to-walk-back-zelenskys-calls-for-preemptive-strikes-against-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ukrainian-government-tries-to-walk-back-zelenskys-calls-for-preemptive-strikes-against-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian Government Tries to Walk Back Zelensky&#8217;s Calls for Preemptive Strikes Against Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fukrainian-government-tries-to-walk-back-zelenskys-calls-for-preemptive-strikes-against-russia%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1678344&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">The presidential press office of Ukraine\u00a0accused global media outlets of \u201cnuclear hysteria\u201d on Thursday for sharing remarks made by President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he asked the world for \u201cpreemptive strikes\u201d on Russia to avoid nuclear war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a8d-pre\">Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/ru.interfax.com.ua\/news\/general\/863548.html\">made<\/a> the remarks during a question and answer session with the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, on Thursday, asserting that NATO had a responsibility to \u201cmake it impossible for Russia to use nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cPreemptive strikes are needed so that they know what awaits them if they use nuclear weapons. Not the other way around, waiting for Russia\u2019s nuclear strikes and then saying, \u2018oh, you\u2019ve done that, then get this,&#8217;\u201d Zelensky said, according to the Interfax news agency.<\/p>\n<p>The comments are consistent with how Zelensky has discussed conflict generally in the past. The Ukrainian president <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/06\/07\/ukraines-zelensky-unpleasantly-surprised-disappointed-by-biden-pro-putin-policies\/\">expressed<\/a> outrage last year following the decision by leftist President Joe Biden to lift sanctions on the Nordstream 2 pipeline project, which would have greatly increased Russia\u2019s ability to sell natural gas to Europe. Zelensky insisted that sanctions prior to an invasion, not after the damage is done, were necessary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a8d-pre\">\u201cSanctions are considered to be a preventive tool because they can be applied and then lifted. If there is an invasion by Russia, do you introduce powerful sanctions after we might have already lost several territories?\u201d Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/01\/21\/ukraines-zelensky-again-makes-demand-biden-keeps-ignoring-for-sanctions-on-russia\/\">asked<\/a> in an interview with the\u00a0<em>Washington Post<\/em> in January. \u201cOnce you introduce sanctions, what will Russia do?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Russia Asks Ukraine to &#8216;Stop Shelling&#8217; Nuclear Plant, Let International Inspectors In <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/119NvUbAJ2\">https:\/\/t.co\/119NvUbAJ2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1558818221951557633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Zelensky made similar remarks in June when asked about China\u2019s repeated threats to invade the neighboring country of Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must not leave them behind at the mercy of another country which is more powerful in financial terms, in territorial terms and in terms of equipment,\u201d Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2022\/06\/13\/volodymyr-zelensky-asks-world-defend-taiwan-china-now-not-after-war-started\/\">said<\/a>. \u201cAnd therefore, if there is a way out diplomatically, we need to use the diplomatic way. But it must be a preemptive way, not the one that comes after the war has started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky\u2019s \u201cpreemptive strikes\u201d remarks on Thursday caused alarm worldwide in the greater context of growing panic over a potential nuclear war, fueled by individuals such as Biden, who warned of an impending \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/10\/06\/joe-biden-warns-world-facing-nuclear-armageddon-vladimir-putin\/\">Armageddon<\/a>\u201d on Thursday. The Russian government, as the target of the remarks, was particularly appalled, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themoscowtimes.com\/2022\/10\/07\/moscow-fumes-over-monster-zelenskys-preemptive-strike-calls-a79015\">referring<\/a> to Zelensky as a \u201cmonster.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"a8d-pre\">\u201cEveryone on the planet must realize that Zelensky, a puppet pumped with weapons, has turned into a monster whose hands could destroy the planet,\u201d Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a social media post responding to the remarks.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The Ukrainian government has addressed the backlash by attempting to walk back Zelensky\u2019s comments. The remarks do not appear in the official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/en\/news\/svit-povinen-pokazati-silu-shob-postaviti-krapku-u-spromozhn-78325\">transcript<\/a> of Zelensky\u2019s comments to the Lowy Institute \u2013 only his prepared speech, not the question and answer responses, appear \u2013 and the president does not make similar calls to attack in that text. Zelensky instead focused on sanctions, condemning the administration of world powers in charge in 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, for not punishing Moscow enough to prevent an escalation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2014, we did not see, for example, really tough sanctions against Russia. It was not punished for this crime. At that time, there was a very strong desire among many in the world to turn a blind eye to the annexation, to consider the war simply a \u2018crisis\u2019 and to continue relations with Russia,\u201d Zelensky said, referring primarily to the foreign policy of then-American President Barack Obama, who greatly influenced the European non-response to the invasion of Crimea.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut this always happens: when a criminal does not receive an adequate punishment for a crime he has committed, he perceives it as permission for further criminal acts. \u2018They are weak,\u2019 is how the aggressor reacts when he feels no response,\u201d Zelensky\u2019s remarks continued.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ukraine War: Reports of More Shelling Near Europe&#8217;s Biggest Nuclear Plant <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XkDzvW4RqW\">https:\/\/t.co\/XkDzvW4RqW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1561687126068060160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 22, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"a8d-pre\">Zelensky also repeated the official Ukrainian government claim that damage to the Nordstream pipelines, which funnel natural gas from Russia to Europe, was Russian \u201csabotage\u201d meant as an attack on European peace. The Nordstream pipelines in the Baltic Sea began <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2022\/09\/27\/dramatic-images-erupting-sea-emerge-europe-russia-nord-stream-pipeline-leaks\/\">leaking<\/a> in late September; the countries through which the pipeline passes have claimed that such leaks would be impossible without sabotage but no investigation has identified a culprit at press time. Russia stands to lose millions in natural gas profits from being unable to use the pipeline.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe recent sabotage with gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea was also very eloquent. These are actions that can destabilize life on the entire continent. This is a real energy weapon of mass destruction,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cAbsolutely every country in the world depends on underwater cables and pipelines, which can be destroyed by an aggressor in the same way as gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The presidential office focused on Zelensky\u2019s call to sanctions. Ukrinform, the official state media agency, also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukrinform.net\/rubric-ato\/3587346-zelensky-if-worlds-reaction-is-weak-now-russia-will-come-up-with-some-new-escalation.html\">omitted<\/a> his \u201cpreemptive strike\u201d comments.<\/p>\n<p>Ukrinform reported on the comments in the context of Zelensky\u2019s press secretary,\u00a0Serhii Nykyforov, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukrinform.net\/rubric-polytics\/3587693-media-incorrectly-quoting-zelenskys-words-about-preemptive-strike-against-russia-press-secretary.html\">condemning<\/a> international media for reporting them. Nykyforov alleged that media outlets around the world had published \u201cincorrect\u201d interpretations of his remarks, particularly those who suggested that Zelensky had called for a nuclear bombing of Russia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cColleagues, you have gone a little too far with your nuclear hysteria and now you hear nuclear strikes even where there are none,\u201d Zelensky\u2019s press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02hbNsZfMERQXFg3vmem6xbytV4ojAjAFhd2NgLCp7t1KS89d52vsrbtsWuPwr6NLHl&amp;id=100001727742730\">wrote<\/a> on Facebook. \u201cThe president spoke about the period before February 24. At that time, it was necessary to apply preventive measures to prevent Russia from starting a war. Let me remind you that the only measures that were discussed at that time were preemptive sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cOnly the terrorist state Russia allows itself to blackmail the world with explosions at the ZNPP [Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant] and hint in every way at the use of nuclear weapons. You will never hear such calls from Ukraine,\u201d Nykyforov wrote.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Blackouts Across Much of Ukraine as Russian Missiles Blast Power Plants, Waterworks<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hDbkCoyJoj\">https:\/\/t.co\/hDbkCoyJoj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1569657150321950721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 13, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ukraine is not known publicly to possess any nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n<p>Russia escalated its eight-year-old invasion of Ukraine on February 24, announcing that it would recognize the territories of Ukraine\u2019s Donbas region, Donetsk and Luhansk, as sovereign states. Russian leader Vladimir Putin \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/09\/30\/vladimir-putin-vows-destruction-of-satanic-west-in-ukraine-annexation-rant\/\">annexed<\/a>\u201d the regions, along with Ukraine\u2019s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia territories, last week.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to Nykyforov, Zelensky was discussing how to prevent a nuclear escalation currently and did not make any indication that he was discussing the use of a \u201cpreemptive strike\u201d in the past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>One of Zelensky\u2019s top advisers,\u00a0Mykhailo Podolyak, took a different approach, <a href=\"https:\/\/kyivindependent.com\/news-feed\/zelenskys-staff-forced-to-clarify-statement-after-president-suggests-preventive-strike-on-russia\">claiming<\/a> that Zelensky was calling for countries to \u201coutline\u201d potential consequences preemptively rather than actually making \u201cpreemptive strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZelensky reminded the world of Russian nuclear blackmail and suggested it pre-emptively outline the consequences for Russia and intensify strikes against Russia \u2013 sanctions and armed aid,\u201d Podolyak wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frances Martel on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">Twitter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The presidential press office of Ukraine\u00a0accused global media outlets of \u201cnuclear hysteria\u201d on Thursday for sharing remarks made by President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he asked the world for \u201cpreemptive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1678346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1678344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1678344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1678346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1678344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1678344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1678344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}