UKRAINE has denied reports it could be months away from developing a nuclear bomb.
It was claimed Kyiv could build a basic device that would have just one-tenth of the power of the “Fat Man“ – the bomb dropped by the US on Nagasaki in 1945.
The claim was first made in a paper published by the Centre for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies – a Ukrainian military think tank, reports The Times.
The research paper is understood to have been shared with defence officials in Kyiv.
It was suggested Ukraine could use spent nuclear fuel from its nine remaining power plants to develop a very basic atomic device.
The report concluded it would be “not difficult“ for Ukraine to build such a weapon if it is cut loose by the US.
The authors argued that should Kyiv lose support, quickly building a nuclear bomb could act as a bargaining chip to stop Putin from overrunning Ukraine.
Ukraine however was quick to shut down the claims.
The country gave up its nukes in the 90s under the proviso its security would be protected.
Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry, said: “We do not possess, develop, or intend to acquire nuclear weapons.
“Ukraine works closely with the IAEA and is fully transparent to its monitoring, which rules out the use of nuclear materials for military purposes.“
Kyiv remains on a knife edge as the future of the war hangs in the balance after Donald Trump won the US election.
Trump is understood to be keen to end the war as quickly as possible and could withdraw US funding from Kyiv.
It has been nearly 1,000 days since Putin launched his illegal war which has devolved into a slow-moving meatgrinder.
The think tank’s report claims: “The weight of reactor plutonium available to Ukraine can be estimated at seven tons.“
It continues: “A significant nuclear weapons arsenal would require much less material.”
It later adds: “The amount of material is sufficient for hundreds of warheads with a tactical yield of several kilotons.“
The strength of such a jury-rigged bomb would be around one tenth that of the “Fat Man“.
Oleksii Yizhak, the report’s author, said: “That would be enough to destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military, industrial or logistics installations.“
Valentyn Badrak, director of the think tank, said: “You need to understand we face an existential challenge.
“If the Russians take Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians will be killed under occupation.
“There are millions of us who would rather face death than go to the gulags.“
It comes after leaked videos showed North Korean soldiers training in Russia as Vladimir Putin readied 50,000 troops to claw back Kursk from Ukraine.
The footage showed just how close the two countries are – with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un also signing a new military pact.
The footage, made up of three short clips, was released by a Ukrainian journalist.
It appears to show North Korean troops being trained by their counterparts in speaking Russian and using Vlad’s equipment.
