What UK & France's Nuclear Arms Plan for Ukraine Means for Global Security
© AP Photo / PATRICK GARDIN
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The four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine is heavily loaded in the former's favour, with the latter struggling to find enough men to fight on the battlefield, besides depending on foreign weaponry to inflict casualties and damage to Russian forces.
The UK and France are in the process of arming Ukraine with a nuclear bomb, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Tuesday.
"London and Paris are preparing to arm Kiev with a nuclear bomb ... the British and French elites are not ready to accept defeat. It is believed that Ukraine needs to be supplied with the 'Wunderwaffe.' Kiev will be able to claim more favourable conditions for the end of hostilities if it possesses an atomic or at least a so-called dirty bomb," the SVR's statement read.
"We are talking about the covert transfer of European components, equipment and technologies in this area to Ukraine. The French small-sized TN75 warhead from the M51.1 submarine-launched ballistic missile is considered as an option," Russia's foreign spy agency added.
"We are talking about the covert transfer of European components, equipment and technologies in this area to Ukraine. The French small-sized TN75 warhead from the M51.1 submarine-launched ballistic missile is considered as an option," Russia's foreign spy agency added.
Britain and France, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and among the handful of countries that possess atomic warheads, are probably using this as a pressure tactic on Russia, according to retired Major General Prabdeep Singh Behl.
"The UK and France are trying to take a lead in European affairs as far as defence is concerned, sidelining the US to a certain extent. Moreover, both France and Britain are small nations compared to Russia and the US, having much smaller militaries, yet they are nuclear-armed, and this is one aspect in which they can assert themselves, which the two nations appear to be doing with this move," Behl told Sputnik India.
🚨Irresponsible UK-France collusion to supply Ukraine with nuclear arms is a recipe for disaster: Russia's Upper House https://t.co/iMHl3HQOLh pic.twitter.com/nB52he217Z
— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) February 24, 2026
This development could be an extension of the earlier statement made by Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who stated this month that his country was ready to host nuclear weapons on its soil, before adding that NATO has no such doctrine that stops Estonia from deploying atomic bombs inside its territory, the Indian Army veteran added.
Russia wouldn't be worried about Paris and London's plans. After all, previously, Moscow categorically stated that if nuclear weapons were to be brought to Estonia, the Baltic country would become a legitimate target for Russian forces, sending a strong signal to European nations, he highlighted.
On the other hand, Group Captain Uttam Kumar Devnath (Retd), was of the view that providing nuclear warheads to Ukraine would be insignificant if Britain and France failed to send surface-to-surface missiles that can deliver these tactical nuclear weapons deep inside Russian territory.
Russia wouldn't be worried about Paris and London's plans. After all, previously, Moscow categorically stated that if nuclear weapons were to be brought to Estonia, the Baltic country would become a legitimate target for Russian forces, sending a strong signal to European nations, he highlighted.
On the other hand, Group Captain Uttam Kumar Devnath (Retd), was of the view that providing nuclear warheads to Ukraine would be insignificant if Britain and France failed to send surface-to-surface missiles that can deliver these tactical nuclear weapons deep inside Russian territory.
"In case a nuclear attack is carried out on Russia from Ukraine, Moscow would surely launch a massive nuclear retaliation against not only Kiev but also against France and Britain, considering they would be the ones responsible for arming Ukraine with atomic bombs," Devnath said in an interview with Sputnik India.
🚨🇮🇳🇷🇺 Russia will defend its sovereignty with massive nuclear retaliation: Uttam Kumar Debnath, Group Captain (retd.), on UK-France plan to arm Ukraine with nuclear weapons https://t.co/iMHl3HQOLh pic.twitter.com/zR3K3Qm4sO
— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) February 24, 2026
The US and other NATO allies, especially France and Britain, must realise that nuclear capabilities are not provided to a nation like Ukraine, which may use them "indiscriminately" against Russia after a minor provocation, bringing the world to the verge of a mega war, which might just become uncontrollable, the former Indian Air Force (IAF) officer concluded.
