Expensive transfer: Sending Kiev nuclear weapons could derail peace talks
The intention of Paris and London to transfer nuclear weapons to Kiev indicates their desire to disrupt peace talks, Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia. Earlier, the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation reported on similar plans of France and the United Kingdom. Experts are confident that the transfer of atomic warheads to Kiev will make European countries direct participants in the conflict in Ukraine and violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. At the same time, the embassies of France and Great Britain in the Russian Federation denied the data of the SVR. About the global reaction to the information from Russian intelligence and their possible impact on the negotiations on strategic stability — in the Izvestia material.
The likelihood of nuclear weapons transfer to Ukraine
On February 24, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service reported that Britain and France were preparing to transfer atomic weapons to Ukraine. We are talking about the possible shipment of a TN75 nuclear warhead designed for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The SVR claims that Western countries want to expose the appearance of such weapons in Kiev as the result of the development of the Ukrainians themselves.
The Kremlin called such plans a "blatant violation of international law," stressing that this information would be taken into account by Moscow during peace talks. Earlier, on February 17-18, a meeting of the delegations of the Russian Federation, the United States and Ukraine was held in Geneva, and a new round is expected in the near future.
Participants of the trilateral meeting of the delegations of Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Geneva, February 17, 2026
In the Russian parliament, the plans of Paris and London were considered "political schizophrenia", the purpose of which is to disrupt the peace process and continue the Ukrainian conflict.
— They (Great Britain and France. — Ed.) they want to step up efforts to ensure that this (the military conflict in Ukraine. — Ed.) lasted as long as possible. But negotiations must continue, taking into account the fact that common sense will prevail in the minds of our opponents. Perhaps we should appeal to the parliaments of the relevant countries, including the European Union, so that they understand where their so—called titans of thought are leading the game," Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
A little later, officially, the Russian senators demanded an investigation into this matter and sent relevant appeals to the legislative bodies of Great Britain and France, the European Parliament, the UN, the IAEA and the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Izvestia sent a request to the embassies of France and Great Britain in the Russian Federation, as well as to the British Parliament. The Paris and London representative offices later denied the information of the SVR to RBC. A similar statement was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to the Reuters news agency.
The European Parliament said that the deputies had not yet discussed the Russian intelligence report.
— It is necessary to discuss this issue with interested states before drawing conclusions. So far, I have not heard anything in Parliament on this issue. However, given the seriousness of everything related to nuclear weapons, it is necessary to maintain attention to this issue. Since the UK is not a member of the European Union, the EU's discussion of such developments will, in any case, concern only France," European Parliament member Fernand Kartheiser explained to Izvestia.
A similar position was expressed in the British Parliament.
"I haven't heard about it, but if it's true, then it's an irresponsible and bad idea that should be investigated," Richard Balfe, a member of the House of Lords, told Izvestia.
The transfer of atomic weapons to Kiev would mean a direct threat to Russia's sovereignty, which is protected by the "nuclear dome," Mikhail Kovalchuk, president of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center, recalled.
— [Russia] remains one of the few sovereign states on Earth, due to the fact that many decades ago <...> the main decision was made to develop what does not exist — nuclear technology. And nuclear weapons arose. <...> Only in delirium can the idea come to mind to try to do something with us," he said, speaking at the scientific conference "Bioeconomics for Man", which is being held as part of the Forum of Future Technologies.
What will happen to the NPT and the START Treaty
The transfer of atomic warheads by Paris and London to Kiev, if this happens, will make them direct participants in a military conflict and violate the International Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Vasily Klimov, a researcher at the IMEMO RAS Center for International Security, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia.
— This will lead to the fact that the already fragile balance may simply collapse, — said the expert.
The 11th NPT Review Conference is scheduled to be held in New York in April–May 2026. Western countries are unlikely to decide to violate the treaty, especially on the eve of this event, Klimov is sure.
Recently, the topic of nuclear proliferation in Europe has become increasingly relevant. Last week, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that the country was ready to deploy it on its territory under the auspices of NATO, if necessary. Moscow reacted accordingly: if Estonia has nuclear weapons aimed at Russia, Russia will respond in the same way.
"There is a treaty on the non—Proliferation of nuclear Weapons, and its deployment in Estonia is a direct violation of this document and one of the elements of its proliferation," former Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet, First Deputy Commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Alexander Brazhnik, told Izvestia. — We remember the current president, Donald Trump, from his first term, when he repeatedly violated international agreements and went beyond the powers provided for by presidential duties.
It is important to recall that in 2026, long-range American missiles capable of hitting Russian territory may appear in Germany. Earlier, the White House press service reported that the United States would begin "sporadic" deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe, which could become permanent in the future.
Finally, the alleged plans of Paris and London may interfere with the negotiation track for concluding a new agreement to replace the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (START Treaty).
Earlier, the Kremlin ruled out the possibility of signing such an agreement without taking into account the nuclear arsenals of France and Great Britain. Work in this direction continues. According to Reuters, representatives of the United States and Russia met in Geneva on February 23 to discuss the conclusion of a multilateral treaty on nuclear arms control. A similar meeting with the Chinese side was scheduled to take place on February 24, but as of Tuesday evening there was no confirmation of this information.
The Kremlin did not provide any clarifying comments on this matter. But, in any case, the possible transfer of atomic weapons by France and Britain to Ukraine could seriously complicate these negotiations, Klimov says.
On February 5, 2026, the term of the Russian-American Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, also known as START III) expired. This is the only treaty between Russia and the United States that limited their nuclear arsenals.
What are TN-75 warheads?
The TN-75 is a thermonuclear warhead from the M—51 ballistic missiles carried on French nuclear submarines. The warheads are relatively small, their mass can be in the region of 150-200 kg, military expert Dmitry Kornev told Izvestia.
"It is technically possible to transfer such warheads, because each of them is stored in a small container," the expert explained. — Based on the characteristics, dimensions, and weight, the warhead can be placed, for example, on Ukrainian Flamingo missiles.
France can transfer them — they have achieved the development of their "sovereign" nuclear weapons under President De Gaulle, Oleg Zheltonozhko, an expert on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, told Izvestia.
— Britain does not have such an opportunity. They don't make their own warheads, but use American products — and this is the property of the United States," he clarified.
Statements about Ukraine's possible renunciation of nuclear-weapon-free status (this, in particular, was allowed by Vladimir Zelensky, speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022), became one of the catalysts for conducting a special military operation, military expert Viktor Litovkin believes.
— Ukraine has never possessed its own nuclear weapons. During the Soviet period, its territory was home to the arsenal of a superpower that did not belong to Ukraine. Moreover, in the 90s, it was the United States that insisted on the export of these weapons, actually paying Kiev about $2 billion for the lack of resistance to this process," Litovkin told Izvestia.
According to the expert, today Ukraine has neither the production base nor the scientific and engineering potential to create a full-fledged nuclear cycle. The country simply does not have the appropriate industry to implement such a high-tech project.
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