Russian President Vladimir Putin declared today that any attempt by Kyiv to secure nuclear weapons will be met with a response from Moscow, stating that Russia will prevent Ukraine from obtaining such weapons.

“Regardless of the circumstances, Russia will not allow this to happen,” Putin stated to reporters, as reported by Russian media outlets.

Speaking to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed that Ukraine either needs nuclear weapons or NATO membership.

He pointed out that after the Soviet Union fell apart, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. Now, they see joining NATO as the only way to protect themselves from Russia.

Zelensky also explained his earlier remarks, saying he never claimed that Ukraine was looking to build nuclear weapons.

When the Soviet Union broke up, Ukraine ended up with nuclear arms but chose to give them up in the 1990s in exchange for promises of territorial safety.

Ukraine believes that Russia broke those promises when it decided to invade their country.