Russia accuses Ukraine of seeking to acquire nuclear weapon with help from UK and France

Russia ⁠accused Ukraine on Tuesday of trying ⁠to obtain a nuclear weapon with help from Britain and France, an allegation Kyiv called an absurd lie. A French foreign ministry spokesman said the allegation was “blatant disinformation”. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “There’s no truth ‌to this.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously criticised Kyiv’s decision to give up its former Soviet nuclear arsenal in the 1990s without obtaining proper, binding... AdvertisementUkraine warWorldRussia & Central AsiaRussia accuses Ukraine of seeking to acquire nuclear weapon with help from UK and FranceRussia says the western allies believe Ukraine could end the war on more favourable terms if it had a dirty bomb, an allegation Kyiv deniesReading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPReutersPublished: 2:14am, 25 Feb 2026Russia ⁠accused Ukraine on Tuesday of trying ⁠to obtain a nuclear weapon with help from Britain and France, an allegation Kyiv called an absurd lie.A French foreign ministry spokesman said the allegation was “blatant disinformation”. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “There’s no truth ‌to this.”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously criticised Kyiv’s decision to give up its former Soviet nuclear arsenal in the 1990s without obtaining proper, binding security guarantees.AdvertisementBut Kyiv has said it does not seek to reacquire nuclear weapons, and respects all international treaties.In a statement published on the fourth anniversary of the war, Russia’s ⁠SVR foreign intelligence service said Britain and France believed that Ukraine would be able to secure ‌more favourable terms for ending the war if it possessed “a nuclear bomb, or at least a so-called ‘dirty bomb’”.AdvertisementIt did not include documentary evidence to ‌back its assertion.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x