Russia has accused France and the United Kingdom of seeking to arm Ukraine with a dirty bomb. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated he would accept nuclear weapons from Britain and France “with pleasure,” emphasizing that no such offer had ever been made.
In a recent interview, Zelensky responded to Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claims that Western nations were planning to provide Ukraine with components for building a radioactive dirty bomb or even a nuclear weapon. A dirty bomb uses conventional explosives laced with radioactive material and does not have the explosive force of a nuclear device but can contaminate large areas.
Zelensky clarified that while he would take such weapons “with pleasure,” no proposal had been made to Ukraine. This follows his earlier suggestion in early 2022—days before Russia’s full-scale invasion—that Ukraine might reconsider its non-nuclear status.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Zelensky of “confessing” what London and Paris have kept secret, while Kremlin aide Kirill Dmitriev claimed the interviewer had “urgently interrupted” Zelensky during his remarks on nuclear weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that SVR intelligence would be considered in ongoing peace negotiations and warned that its public release could thwart “crazy” nuclear plans.