DISINFO: The West might give nuclear weapons to Kyiv
SUMMARY
Western countries are supplying Ukraine with weapons and could give nuclear weapons to Kyiv. This could be part of a Western attempt to bring Russia to its knees using Ukraine as a proxy. In this case, Russia would not have another possibility other than a preventive nuclear strike on Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that misrepresent Ukraine as a puppet of Western powers in a proxy war against Russia and exploits fears around nuclear weapons.
The transfer of nuclear weapons is prohibited under the international law. There are no plans whatsoever to provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine.
Kyiv received depleted uranium shells from the United Kingdom but these are not nuclear weapons.
"They are not meant to poison people. They are used because of their capability to pierce armour [with kinetic energy]," says Dr Marina Miron, from Kings College London. See also this article from the BBC in which Former British Army tank commander - and chemical weapons expert - Col Hamish de Breton-Gordon states that "depleted uranium rounds used by Challenger 2 tanks contained only trace elements of depleted uranium. He added it was "laughable" to suggest depleted uranium rounds were in any way linked to nuclear weapons, which uses enriched uranium".
Ukraine is not a puppet of Western powers. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by most of the world but were violated by Russia from 2014. Western countries are only supporting military and financial aid to Ukraine for the country’s efficient self-defence against the unprovoked Russian invasion.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the US wants to turn Ukraine into a second Afghanistan for Russia, that Europe is using Ukrainians as cannon fodder, or that depleted uranium shells Ukraine got from allies are dirty bombs.