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“We Do Not Possess, Develop, Or Intend to Acquire Nuclear Weapons”, Ukraine’s MFA Responds to The Times Report
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![Vlad Litnarovych]( "Vlad Litnarovych")
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly refuted a report by The Times suggesting that Ukraine could rapidly assemble a basic nuclear weapon similar to the one used in Nagasaki in 1945, said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi on November 13.
“Ukraine is committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT); we do not possess, develop, or intend to acquire nuclear weapons,” Tykhyi said.
He added that “Ukraine works closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is entirely transparent in its monitoring, which rules out the use of nuclear materials for military purposes.”
The Times report cited a study reportedly prepared for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense by the influential military think tank, the Center for Army, Conversion, and Disarmament Studies.
According to the report, Ukraine could develop a rudimentary atomic bomb within months if US military aid were withdrawn under the new Trump administration.
The cited study outlined the potential for Ukraine to construct a device from plutonium using technology similar to that of a “Fat Man” bomb dropped by the US on Nagasaki in 1945.
The analysis further suggested that the weapon would be capable of delivering about one-tenth of Fat Man’s destructive power.
Although Ukraine has seven tons of plutonium, it is found in spent fuel and would require reprocessing facilities—which Ukraine does not possess—to be weaponized.
Earlier, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, said that NATO forces would be on the ground in Ukraine countering Russian forces if Moscow did not have its nuclear arsenal.
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