The United Kingdom has issued a strong denial of the Russian Federation’s claims that Ukraine is allegedly seeking to acquire nuclear weapons with the support of London and Paris. A representative of the UK government emphasized that such accusations have no basis in fact.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Western Reaction and Kremlin Statement
Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov publicly accused France and the United Kingdom of having the “intent to transfer a nuclear bomb to Kyiv,” which he claimed is a gross violation of international law. These remarks were a response to reports from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, which asserts that Paris and London are allegedly working on supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapons and delivery systems.
According to Russian intelligence, one of the possible options considered was the French TN75 small-sized warhead from the M51.1 submarine-launched ballistic missile, and it was suggested that European technologies, equipment, and components were potentially involved in this cooperation. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service claims that Germany has refused to participate in this so-called “dangerous adventure.”
Legal Position and Historical Context
Official France and Ukraine have not commented on Moscow’s new statement. The global circulation of nuclear weapons is regulated by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which explicitly prohibits the transfer of nuclear technologies to third countries. Neither of the suspected states—France nor the United Kingdom—has ever stated an intention to provide Ukraine with nuclear weapons or to violate existing international law in any way.
“This is a blatant attempt by Vladimir Putin to divert attention from his horrific actions in Ukraine. There is no truth in this,” said the spokesperson for the British government.
It is worth noting that Ukraine officially renounced nuclear weapons after signing the Budapest Memorandum in December 1994. In this document, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States provided guarantees of Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for its renunciation of its nuclear arsenal. However, Ukraine has repeatedly pointed out that the guarantor countries have not fulfilled their obligations under this memorandum, yet the state has not officially announced any intention to regain its nuclear status.