Kremlin urged not to take petitions on Zelensky’s website seriously

Not all petitions on the website of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can be taken seriously, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about an earlier proposal to deploy nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory.

“In itself, the activation of this theme is not a new element. Let’s remember <...> two years ago, the Munich conference, where President Zelensky himself spoke about such a possibility. And this is another very dangerous trend. This is the hypothetical danger that our country cannot ignore,” Peskov said.

On March 30, a petition appeared on Zelensky’s website with a proposal to deploy American nuclear weapons in the country. To oblige the Ukrainian president to consider and respond to the appeal, the petition must be signed by 25,000 people within 90 days.

After that, Deputy Representative of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev declaredthat the Russian “petition” for a preventive nuclear strike could be a response to the initiative to transfer American nuclear weapons to Ukraine.

On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko had long been raising the question of deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of the republic. According to him, the construction of such a storage facility will be completed on July 1.

After that, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, explained the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus as steps to strengthen the security of the Union State. At the same time, the United States noted that they do not see in this decision signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons.

March 28 on the website of the President of Ukraine also appeared a petition demanding a ban on the use of depleted uranium munitions that the United Kingdom plans to supply to the country. On plans for such deliveries on March 20 told Deputy Minister of Defense of the Kingdom Annabelle Goldie. According to her, depleted uranium ammunition is highly effective against modern tanks and armored vehicles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warnedthat Russia will be forced to respond to the supply of shells with depleted uranium to Ukraine. According to him, this decision demonstrates the willingness of the West to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian, not in words, but in deeds.”

Concerns about depleted uranium supplies also expressed at the UN. Farhan Haq, Deputy Representative of the UN Secretary-General, said at the time that the organization had expressed concern “for years about any use of depleted uranium”, given the consequences of such use.