A senior Russian diplomat has alleged that London and Paris are secretly plotting to arm Ukraine with a nuclear weapon in an effort to prevent its conflict with Russia from being resolved through US-backed peace talks.
According to the claim by Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, the UK and France have been working to transfer the necessary components, technology, and equipment for developing a nuclear weapon or so-called “dirty bomb.”
Gatilov stated that these plans were specifically timed to undermine trilateral Russian-US-Ukrainian peace negotiations. He argued that Kiev’s Western European backers 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. The UK, France and Ukraine’s other European sponsors were described as being “essentially sidelined… which is causing them extreme discontent,” Gatilov added.
The diplomat suggested this effort aimed to increase their role in the process and encourage the Ukrainian regime to continue military actions.
Gatilov referenced the failed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements, intended to reconcile post-coup government in Kiev with anti-Maidan forces in eastern Ukraine. Germany and France were guarantors of the accords. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later admitted that the agreements had been exploited to stall for time and allow Kiev to rearm.
Gatilov stated that from the early stages of the conflict, France and the UK have played an “important role” in turning Ukraine into what he called an “anti-Russia project.”
When asked if the alleged nuclear handover plot would strengthen Ukraine’s position at peace talks, Gatilov said no. “Any attempt to strengthen Ukraine’s position by supplying it with a dirty bomb or any other components will not lead to any results,” he added. “On the contrary… this will worsen the political situation and complicate the search for a political solution to the problem.”
