A Ukrainian report suggests the country could pursue nuclear weapon development within months if U.S. military aid is cut off.
On Wednesday, The Times reported that the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies (CACDS), a Ukrainian military think tank, submitted a report to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.
The report outlines a plan to develop a nuclear deterrent similar to the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945 should U.S. military support cease.
On October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the dire situation of the nation, stating the country needed either nuclear weapons for self-defense or some form of alliance.
If U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who opposes aid to Ukraine, were to win the U.S. presidential election, the situation could become more critical, reigniting discussions about nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
The Times reports that CACDS believes Ukraine could produce basic plutonium-based nuclear weapons using technology similar to Fat Man. The think tank claims that, in theory, Ukraine could extract about 7 tons of reactor plutonium from its nine operational reactors to create hundreds of tactical nuclear warheads at the kiloton level, with yields about one-tenth that of Fat Man.
Alexey Izhak, the report’s author and deputy director of Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, stated this would provide sufficient power to destroy a Russian airbase or devastate military, industrial, and logistical facilities.
However, The Times cited Western experts who estimate it would take Ukraine at least five years to develop nuclear weapons and delivery systems, contradicting the report’s timeline.
Regardless of whether Ukraine actually proceeds with development, the statements have sparked controversy, as they are interpreted as an indication of Ukraine’s desire for nuclear-armed status.
In response, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson clarified on X that Ukraine adheres to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has no intention of developing or acquiring nuclear weapons.
The spokesperson emphasized Ukraine’s close cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its commitment to transparency in monitoring, ruling out the use of nuclear materials for military purposes.
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