Twitter was abuzz with nuclear weapons memes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine’s security hinges on either joining NATO or acquiring nuclear weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine’s security relies on either joining NATO or obtaining nuclear weapons. Speaking at the European Council summit, he reminded leaders of Ukraine’s decision to relinquish its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in 1994 under the Budapest Memorandum, in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy also outlined his Victory plan to the Kyiv parliament, aimed at ending the war with Russia. The plan includes securing a formal invitation to join NATO and continuing arms shipments to pressure Russia into negotiations.
It began seemingly innocently and literally pieces together Zelenskyy’s speech:
However, it quickly evolved into something like this.
Some suggested that, instead of Ukraine joining NATO, it should be NATO invited to join Ukraine.
The most prominent figures of the Ukrainian society were also featured.
Budanov also appears in an AI-generated Oppenheimer video humorously titled “Budanov After Being Tasked with Leading Ukraine’s Nuclear Program.”
The creator of the nuclear bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, was humorously “Ukrainianized” by adding traditional Cossack features and changing his last name to “Oppenheimenko,” giving him a playful Ukrainian twist.
The “Ze-bomb” or “Ternopyl-M,” a parody of Russia’s Topol-M missile, humorously combines traditional Ukrainian embroidery with the design elements of Zelenskyy’s party’s election campaign, blending cultural pride with political satire.
Zelenskyy was also depicted as the main character in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”.
Not only films were referenced, but classic Ukrainian cartoons as well. “The Cossacks” (Ukrainian: Козаки) series, a beloved collection of animated comedy shorts originally produced by Kyivnaukfilm and later by UkrAnimaFilm and Baraban studios, also made an appearance. In the memes, all three iconic Cossacks were humorously depicted carrying nuclear bombs. The original script and direction of the series were created by Volodymyr Dakhno.
NAFO jumped on the trend, rebranding itself with a playful twist as the “North Atomic Fellas Organization and picturing NAFO avatar as a nuclear bomb.
A Finnish NAFO member proposed a clever merch idea: a “MUNA” cap—playing on the word for “egg” in both Finnish and Estonian—with the slogan “Make Ukraine Nuclear Again.” The design humorously parodies the MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats popularized by Trump supporters and also refers to the “Ukraine – a country with balls” slogan.
Pes Patron, Ukraine’s most famous detection dog and mascot for the State Emergency Service, is shown wearing protective gear and a gas mask, with his name playfully changed to Pes PROTON.
“Discussion on nuclear weapons should also be directed against Russia’s nuclear threats. Ukraine points out that it is possible to counterbalance Russia’s nuclear blackmail,” assessed war blogger Rainer Saks. “The Ukrainian president probably got a bit too carried away with his performance. Later, he and several Ukrainian authorities had to confirm that Ukraine is not developing a nuclear bomb and does not plan such activities in the future.”
The actions of meme creators specifically helped to counterbalance Russia’s nuclear blackmail.
If you have encountered any interesting memes, please send them to Propastop, and we will gratefully include them in our post!
