"Preventive kick" against Russia is "kick by sanctions" – Zelensky in interview with BBC

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said he meant "kicks by sanctions" speaking about "preventive kicks" against Russia in one of his recent speeches.

"When I said "preventive kick", I meant a preventive kick, not an attack, these are different things," the head of state said in an interview with BBC published on Friday night.

"I just want to tell them, the Russians, that the whole civilized world knows that we are not terrorists, we did not start this war. As I have said earlier, during two years of my presidency we proposed a dialogue, we sought opportunities to speak with President Putin, just a phone conversation – they rejected it all," he said.

"That is why I called – that was before February 24, before the invasion – I said that we were raising the issue of preventive kicks, kicks by sanctions. Not a dialogue, not words, but kicks – that is what I meant," the president said.

Earlier, in his speech at the Australian Lowy Institute, Zelensky said that NATO should make it impossible for Russia to use nuclear weapon.

"Preventive kicks are necessary, so that they know what they will face if they use nuclear weapon. Not the opposite – to wait for Russia's nuclear strikes in order to say them, 'Oh, if you do so, then get this'," the president said.