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Kyiv calls data on the possibility of creating a nuclear bomb stupid
Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons 30 years ago. Zelensky said that to ensure the country's security, it must join NATO or restore its nuclear status. Russia opposes both options.
Information from the Bild newspaper about Ukraine's ability to create a nuclear bomb within a few weeks if necessary is "absurd," said Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmitry Litvin, according to TSN.
The German newspaper previously quoted a Ukrainian official "specializing in arms procurement" as saying that Kyiv has the resources and expertise to build nuclear weapons. If such an order is given, the first bomb would be built within weeks, one of the sources told correspondent Julian Lepke several months ago. The source added that the West should think "less about Russia's red lines" and "more about our own red lines."
As a non-nuclear weapons state, Ukraine has acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and renounced nuclear weapons. It has committed to withdrawing all nuclear weapons from its territory. In 1994, the Budapest Memorandum was signed, according to which, in exchange for Ukraine's renunciation of nuclear weapons, the other signatories (Russia, the United States, and Great Britain) pledged to respect the independence, sovereignty, and existing borders of the country. The elimination of nuclear weapons from Ukraine to Russia was completed in 1996. Ukraine has only fuel for nuclear power plants.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Brussels that Kyiv has two options for ensuring security. Either join NATO or acquire nuclear weapons. The Ukrainian authorities prefer the first option, Zelensky said, recalling the Budapest Memorandum.
"Of all these big countries, all the nuclear powers, which one suffered? Each one? No, one - Ukraine. Who gave nuclear weapons? Each one? One of them - Ukraine. Who is fighting today? Ukraine." Zelensky said.
Russia opposes Ukraine's membership in NATO and its possession of nuclear weapons. Last June, President Vladimir Putin named Ukraine's neutrality, non-alignment and denuclearization as conditions for a ceasefire and the start of peace talks. Others include formal withdrawal from NATO and the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.