“The British and French want to disguise the transfer of nuclear weapons to Kyiv as a result of Ukraine’s own development,” the SVR said in a statement quoted by the Russian TASS agency. Allegedly, it is supposed to be the supply of technologies and components, while the French TN-75 warhead from the M51.1 ballistic missile, launched from a submarine, is also being considered.
According to Russian claims, Germany refused to participate in the plan. Intelligence further claims that “Great Britain and France realize that there is no chance of achieving victory over Russia through Ukrainian armed forces.”
The Russian Federation Council called on the UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate the situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that Russia will not allow Ukraine to acquire nuclear weapons and will use “all available means” as a last resort. “If anyone officially transfers anything, it will be a violation of all non-proliferation commitments,” he said at the end of 2024.
At the beginning of February 2025, the Kremlin sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal that nuclear weapons could help ensure Ukraine’s security against another Russian invasion. The Kremlin described the idea as “bordering on madness”.
Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in 1994 under the Budapest Memorandum in exchange for security guarantees from several partners, including Russia. After the collapse of the USSR, it had approximately 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads, which were taken to Russia by 1996.
“Russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum. Therefore, I believe that we, as the West, would have the right to provide Ukraine with nuclear warheads to defend its independence,” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in June 2022, according to the Kyiv Post.
