Nuclear warning from Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a press conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, following the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit. Declaring that if Ukraine acquires nuclear weapons, Russia will use all the weapons at its disposal against Ukraine, Putin said, "What will we do if the country we are currently at war with becomes a nuclear power? In that case, I want to emphasize this, we will absolutely use all the weapons of mass destruction at Russia's disposal. Everything. We will not allow this. We will be monitoring their every move."

Stating that those who provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine would be violating the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Putin said, "If someone officially transfers something, this will mean a violation of their commitments to prevent the proliferation of all the nuclear weapons they provide."

Stating that it is practically impossible for Ukraine to produce nuclear weapons, Putin noted that Ukraine could potentially build a type of "dirty bomb," meaning a conventional bomb rigged with radioactive material to spread contamination, and announced that in such a case, Russia would respond accordingly.

Last week, reports in the US press, citing unnamed officials, suggested that US President Joe Biden could provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine before leaving office.

Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991, but gave them up in 1994 in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the US, and the UK under the Budapest Memorandum. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly complained that this decision left his country without security and has cited it as a reason for Ukraine to be admitted to NATO.