Zelenskyy: “Putin and the people around him use nuclear weapons rhetoric at least twice a year. They also push narratives through the media and their bloggers that if you pressure Russia, or if you support Ukraine, or if you impose additional sanctions, they will use nukes.” Q: Sorry to push you on this, but has there been a moment over the last 4.5 years where there was a serious risk of Putin using a nuclear weapon? Has there been a moment when that was a real possibility? Zelenskyy: “No, I don’t really know anything about this. What I do know is that Russians always try to raise this topic when they need something, or when they are afraid of something, or when they want to divide Europe, or when they want someone in Europe or White House to stop supporting Ukraine. They always raise this topic as an additional psychological instrument of influence to pressure Europeans or the United States. But I never saw anything more than that.” I hope that after so many years of the same threats repeated over and over, people finally recognize this for what it is: simple, cheap manipulation.