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• Russia-Ukraine war

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Watch: Zelensky warns Russians are being prepared for nuclear warfare

By Hugo Bachega and John Simpson

BBC News, Kyiv

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian officials have begun to “prepare their society” for the possible use of nuclear weapons, but added he does not believe Russia is ready to use them.

In an interview with the BBC, President Zelensky denied having urged strikes on Russia, claiming that an earlier remark had been mistranslated.

“You must use preventive kicks,” he said, referring to sanctions, “not attacks”.

In recent weeks, the Ukrainian army has recaptured large swathes of territory in a successful counter-offensive that has forced Russian troops to abandon long-held positions. In what Kyiv describes as Moscow’s response to its defeats, President Vladimir Putin has incorporated four partially occupied regions of Ukraine.

The annexations, widely dismissed as illegal, have raised…