Ukraine could develop a rudimentary nuclear bomb within months if Donald Trump withdraws US military aid, a briefing paper prepared for the country’s defense ministry reveals. The weapon would be made of plutonium and would use similar technology to the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, the report said. Despite giving up its nuclear arsenal in 1996, Kiev still controls nine operational reactors and has significant expertise in how to build nuclear weapons.
The news comes after Trump reportedly backed President Volodymyr Zelensky’s shock ultimatum to NATO last month that Ukraine will either join the bloc or become a nuclear power. He later clarified that he meant there was no alternative security guarantee, and Kiev has since denied that it is considering building a nuclear bomb.
According to the Times, the briefing paper prepared for the Ministry of Defense states: “The creation of a simple atomic bombas the United States did under the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later. The weight of plutonium available in Ukraine can be estimated at seven tons… A significant nuclear weapons arsenal would require much less material,” he continued.
The bomb would be large enough to destroy an entire Russian air base or concentrated military or industrial targets, the paper’s authors concluded. US President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to end the Russia-Ukraine war within a day of taking office, while boasted of his “very good relationship” with President Putin.
He also said the invasion would never have happened if he was in the White House and criticized Biden’s level of support for Ukraine, despite President Zelensky being adamantly opposed to ceding territory to Russia. Zelensky last month reportedly told NATO to let his country join the group otherwise it will acquire nuclear weapons in a shock ultimatum reportedly endorsed by Trump. He made the bombshell proposal at the EU summit in Brussels – calling on NATO to quickly accept Ukraine or become a nuclear power again, German newspaper Bild reported.
Zelensky had reportedly planned to present what he called a “victory plan” to European Union heads of state and government, but instead made the dramatic announcement to stunned journalists. Speaking to Trump a few weeks ago, the Ukrainian leader said: “Or Ukraine will get nuclear weapons to shield our defense. Or we should form some kind of alliance. Apart from NATO, we know of no effective alliance today ».
He said Trump had agreed to his proposal before making the statement at the summit, insisting that NATO membership would provide his country with the ultimate security guarantee to protect it from Russia. News broke last week that Trump could propose an 800-mile demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine as part of a plan to end the war early.
The plans, outlined by three Trump aides, would include policing the zone with British and European troops. This would mean that Russia would maintain its territorial gains in Ukraine with the current borders frozen. Kiev it should also assure that it will not join NATO for 20 years.
Under the plans, the US would arm Ukraine in exchange for preventing Russia from resuming the war. However, responsibility for manning and funding the buffer zone will fall solely on Ukraine’s European allies. “We can provide training and other support, but the barrel of the gun will be European,” a member of Trump’s team told the Wall Street Journal. “We are not sending Americans to keep the peace in Ukraine. And we don’t pay. Get the Poles, the Germans, the British and the French to do it.’
