Experts assessed whether Ukraine could actually develop a nuclear weapon and what would be the consequences for it

According to the article, based on a document prepared for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the country could quickly create a base device from plutonium, using technology similar to the one used in 1945. “Fat Man” bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

“Building a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did with the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years from now,” the document states.

It also says that, lacking time to build and operate the large facilities needed to enrich uranium, Ukraine should use plutonium extracted from spent fuel rods removed from Ukraine’s nuclear reactors during the war.

Ukraine still controls nine operating reactors and has considerable nuclear experience, although in 1996 gave up the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal.

“The weight of plutonium in Ukraine’s reactors can reach seven tons. Much less material would be needed to build a large arsenal of nuclear weapons. The amount of material is sufficient for hundreds of warheads, the tactical power of which would reach several kilotons,” the document reads.

The paper concludes that such a bomb would be about one-tenth the power of the Fat Man bomb.

“That would be enough to destroy an entire Russian air force base or concentrated military, industrial or logistics facilities. The exact power of the nuclear charge would be unpredictable, as different isotopes of plutonium would be used,” says Oleksijus Jižakas, the author of the report.

He is the head of a department at the National Strategic Research Institute of Ukraine, a state research center that acts as an advisory body to the presidential administration and the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tychy denied The Times’ report, stressing that his country abides by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“We do not have, do not develop and do not intend to develop nuclear weapons. “Ukraine closely cooperates with the IAEA and carries out its monitoring in full transparency, which prevents the use of nuclear materials for military purposes,” he said.

Head of the East European Studies Center (RESC), political scientist Linas Kojala 15min said that he thinks that such speeches show that the situation is not favorable for Ukraine. For the past several years, Kyiv has emphasized its pursuit of NATO membership and has made intense efforts to obtain security guarantees that would essentially rule out any intention to acquire nuclear weapons of its own.