Ukraine could build nuclear bomb in months if US reduces aid – The Times

An analytical memo prepared for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense suggests that Ukraine could quickly develop a basic plutonium-based device using technology similar to the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945.

The document states that Creating a simple atomic bomb, like the one the United States made under the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task even 80 years later.

The report explains that lacking time to build and launch large-scale uranium enrichment facilities, Ukraine would have to rely on plutonium extracted from spent fuel rods removed from its nuclear reactors.

The agency highlights that Ukraine still operates nine active reactors and has significant nuclear expertise, despite giving up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in 1996.

The report states that the amount of plutonium available in Ukraine is estimated at seven tons, and a significant nuclear arsenal would require much less material. The quantity is sufficient for hundreds of tactical warheads with a yield of several kilotons.

The authors conclude that such a bomb would have approximately one-tenth of the power of Fat Man.

However, the report's author, Oleksii Yizhak, head of the National Institute for Strategic Studies of Ukraine, noted that even such a bomb would be enough to destroy a Russian airbase or concentrated military, industrial, or logistical targets.

It is important to note that the exact yield of a nuclear strike would be unpredictable, as different plutonium isotopes would be used.

Last month, President Zelenskyy stated that he told Trump that Ukraine would need nuclear weapons to ensure its security if it was not allowed to join NATO, as demanded by President Putin.

Later, Zelenskyy clarified that he was referring to the lack of alternative security guarantees, and Ukrainian officials have since denied that Kyiv is considering nuclear rearmament.

For more details on whether Ukraine could develop nuclear weapons and why this has become a topic of discussion, read the material by RBC-Ukraine.