Kyiv would gladly accept nukes, but none were offered, Zelenskyy jokes

Zelenskyy made the remark during an interview with Sky News on Feb. 27, when asked to comment on Kremlin propaganda claims that London and Paris were plotting to make Ukraine a nuclear power.

"With pleasure! But I didn’t receive any such proposals," he said.

“No, it’s not happening.”

The comments follow a Feb. 24 claim by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) that France and the UK were preparing to arm Ukraine with nuclear weapons or at least a "dirty bomb." The SVR alleged the two countries intended to disguise any such transfer as a domestic Ukrainian development.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later warned that Moscow would "take this into account" in any peace negotiations over the war in Ukraine.

On Feb. 26, France's Defense Ministry strongly denied the accusations. Olivia Penichou, the ministry's communications director, called the SVR statement "unfounded" and said it had been amplified by Russian propaganda outlets and some foreign media.