0
14:21
0
Russia 'unlikely' to launch nuclear attack despite Putin's threats, US intelligence says
Washington's decision to allow Kyiv to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia has not increased the risk of a nuclear attack, Reuters reported on Nov. 27, citing five unnamed sources familiar with the intelligence data. The news comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin updated the nuclear doctrine on Nov. 19, and Russian government […]
0
Ukraine never wanted to seize Kursk nuclear Power Plant, Zelensky says
Ukrainian forces never intended to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia's Kursk Oblast following Ukraine's incursion into the region in early August, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during an interview with Nordic media on Oct. 30. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of attacking or planning to attack the plant since the start of the […]
0
Ukrainian nuclear plants reduce output in response to large-scale Russian attack
Nuclear power plants in Ukraine reduced electricity production on Nov. 28 as a precautionary measure in response to a Russian mass aerial attack on Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said. For the second time in less than two weeks, the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants (NPPs) lowered […]
0
Ukraine can produce nuclear weapons but its political costs would be too high, analysts say
With the looming risk that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may pull the plug on Washington's support for Ukraine, Kyiv has flirted with the option of nuclear deterrence. The prospect of such a scenario was raised weeks earlier when President Volodymyr Zelensky in October said he had told Trump during a September meeting in New York […]
0
Almost 40% of Russians think nuclear strike on Ukraine is justified, Russian sociologist says
Thirty-nine percent of Russians believe that "the use of nuclear weapons could be justified" during Russia's war in Ukraine, Alexey Levinson, chief of the sociocultural research department at the Russian independent polling organization Levada Center, said at a conference on Nov. 29. Levinson cited a poll conducted by the Levada Center in November. The poll […]
0
Opinion: Western inaction on Ukraine’s security guarantees opens door to global nuclear proliferation
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is approaching its 11th year, with three years of full-scale war. In search of security guarantees like NATO membership, Ukraine has been left in limbo due to Russian-occupied territories and Western bureaucracy. In light of Russian advances and Western indecision, Kyiv has stated that NATO membership is one path to victory […]
0
30 years ago today, Ukraine traded nuclear arms for security assurances, a decision that still haunts Kyiv today
On Dec. 5, 1994, Ukraine had signed a set of political agreements that would guarantee the country's sovereignty and independence in return for accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Signed in Budapest, the memorandum would lay grounds for Ukraine to dispose of its nuclear arsenal in return for the U.S., […]
0
Ukraine braces for winter freeze amid potential Russian strikes targeting nuclear power
Ukraine is set to face its toughest winter since the start of the full-scale invasion as Russia eyes cutting off its nuclear power after already bombing out capacity from half of its electricity generation sector in large-scale air strikes. For now, Russia is not directly striking the plants with missiles and kamikaze drones. But Moscow […]
0
Foreign Ministry responds to rumors of Kyiv's plans to build nuclear bomb
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Nov. 13 denied media reports suggesting that Kyiv was planning to develop weapons of mass destruction. "Ukraine is committed to the NPT (the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons); we do not possess, develop, or intend to acquire nuclear weapons," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said via X. "Ukraine works […]
0
When Ukraine was the third-largest nuclear power
For the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, The Kyiv Independent’s Daria Shulzhenko visits a former Soviet-era nuclear missile silo in south Ukraine. In this video, she delves into the history and significance of the agreement that saw Ukraine relinquish its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances. Through on-site exploration and expert insights, the […]
0
Zelensky says he told Trump that either Ukraine will join NATO or pursue nuclear weapons
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 17 that he told Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in their meeting in September that Ukraine needs to be part of NATO, or it would pursue nuclear capabilities to protect itself. Zelensky was speaking from Brussels, where he presented his victory plan to EU leaders. "Either Ukraine will have […]