This month, 1,000 people chose to support the Kyiv Independent. Can we count on you, too?
Become a member
Skip to content
Edit post

Foreign Ministry responds to rumors of Kyiv's plans to build nuclear bomb

by Olena Goncharova and The Kyiv Independent news desk November 14, 2024 3:14 AM 2 min read
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi attends a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 13, 2024. (Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Nov. 13 denied media reports suggesting that Kyiv was planning to develop weapons of mass destruction.

"Ukraine is committed to the NPT (the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons); we do not possess, develop, or intend to acquire nuclear weapons," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said via X.

"Ukraine works closely with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and is fully transparent to its monitoring, which rules out the use of nuclear materials for military purposes."

The Times reported on Nov. 13 that Ukraine could develop a rudimentary nuclear bomb "within months" if U.S. military assistance under President-elect Donald Trump were to cease, according to a briefing paper prepared for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry seen by the outlet.

The report suggests that Ukraine could swiftly build a basic device using plutonium and technology similar to that of the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki in 1945.

"Creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did during the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later," the document reads.

The Foreign Ministry has previously denied media reports that Ukraine plans to develop its own weapons of mass destruction. Speculation about Ukraine's nuclear options increased after President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 17 said that he told Trump in September that Ukraine must either join NATO or pursue nuclear capabilities for the country's protection.

Zelensky later walked back the comments, saying that Kyiv is not pursuing nuclear weapons and the remarks were made to emphasize the failures of the Budapest Memorandum.

Under the 1994 agreement, Ukraine willingly surrendered its nuclear arsenal in exchange for receiving security guarantees from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia.

Will Ukraine develop its own nuclear weapons?
Amid the looming risk that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may pull the plug on Washington’s support for Ukraine, Kyiv has begun to flirt with the option of nuclear deterrence. The prospect of such a scenario was raised weeks earlier when President Volodymyr Zelensky in October said he had told
Let’s see how far we can go?
We’ve been amazed by your support. We’ve reached our initial goal of finding 1,000 new paying members. We still have till the end of our birthday campaign — with more support, we can do even more good journalism. Over 13,000 people are standing behind us. Can we count on you, too?
Show us support this birthday month
Become a member
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.