Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov points out the need to create a strategic deterrent weapon in Ukraine.

"We face a very serious challenge. Before Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, and this is not a close prospect, we are forced to rely solely on ourselves. What can stop an aggressive nuclear country from a large-scale invasion? Only modern, powerful deterrence weapons. Whether our partners like it or not, but we must work on such a strategic level weapon, a weapon that can effectively hit the enemy at any distance," Turchynov said in an exclusive interview with the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

According to him, there is "no pacifism, which was at the end of the last century, and probably there will not be."

"The Budapest Memorandum, which gave us nuclear disarmament guarantees in exchange for security, it is not worth the paper on which it was written," Turchynov stressed.

In his opinion, no one has "either moral or legal right" to prevent Ukraine from implementing such an initiative. "This is my position," the NSDC secretary added.