MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) - The special military operation did not allow Ukraine to go ahead with its nuclear program, and today Ukraine has no technical capabilities to make nuclear munitions, but can still build a dirty bomb, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"The special military operation stopped Ukraine from carrying out its own nuclear program," Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces Commander Igor Kirillov said at a press briefing.
"Even though it currently has no technical potential to create nuclear munitions, the available capabilities allow Kiev to build a so-called dirty bomb," Kirillov said.
Ukraine could use spent nuclear fuel, as well as industrial and calibrated radiation sources to create a dirty bomb, he said.
The main centers in charge of Ukraine's nuclear program were the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, whose scientists participated in the Soviet nuclear program, and the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences' Kiev Institute for Nuclear Research, Kirillov said.
Kirillov said that funding for these centers had increased drastically and the total volume of procurement had grown by 20 times since 2021.
"That sharp increase in state spending also points to Kiev's attempts to carry out its nuclear program," he said.
At a meeting with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in October 2024, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky demanded fast-track admission to NATO or permission to have nuclear weapons, Kirillov said.
"They declared their intention to reinstate Ukraine's nuclear status back at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022," he said.
"Nuclear blackmail attempts by Ukraine are a matter of serious concern," Kirillov said.