President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Thursday that if the Russo-Ukrainian War continued, the Philippines would be affected by a nuclear war.

In his speech at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) graduation ceremony in SIlang, Cavite, Duterte warned that if nuclear weapons were launched, the conflict would ignite and throw the world into chaos.

“Merong gulo sa Ukraine at Russia, it might overflow ‘yan. Pag maggamit ng nuclear na, we are in a serious problem,” (“There is trouble in Ukraine and Russia, it might overflow. When we use nuclear, we are in a serious problem,”) he stated.

“Kung hindi mangyari magpasalamat tayo sa Diyos. Pag pinindot mo yang butones dyan sa nuclear magkagulo na lahat” (“If it doesn’t happen, let’s thank God. When you press that button on the nuclear, everything will go awry”) he continued.

The report comes after the US Central Intelligence Agency warned last week that defeats in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would force President Vladimir Putin to use a strategic nuclear weapon.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also stated that the world should prepared itself for the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, saying that Moscow is capable of employing “any weapon” in its conflict with Kiev.