MOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Alliance will become a direct participant of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine if France and the United Kingdom provide the Kiev regime with nuclear weapons, a Russian military expert told TASS.

"The transfer of nuclear technologies is impossible without professionals trained to handle such high-tech components," said Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). "All international regulations stipulate that such weapons should be under proper control throughout their entire life cycle, up to the moment when they are used. It will be impossible to simply give away such a warhead without accompanying it until it is ready for use. In fact, we are witnessing a clear step towards the NATO-Russia conflict."

The expert added that the transfer of nuclear technologies or warheads to the Kiev government will be another red line crossed, presenting an existential threat to Russia.

In his words, if Ukraine gets French-made TN75 compact thermonuclear warhead, used on M51.1 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, Kiev will obtain a nuclear weapon "which is by times more powerful than the bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

"Therefore, in accordance with Russia’s military doctrine, it will be treated as an act of aggression and warmongering, which necessitates reciprocal steps to neutralize the threat," Stepanov added.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported that London and Paris believe that Kiev’s negotiating position could improve if it receives a "Wunderwaffe," which is German for "miracle weapon". The European capitals consider it to be nuclear or so-called dirty bombs. According to the Russian intelligence agency, France and the UK are actively working on a covert transfer of European-made components, equipment, and technologies to Ukraine, including a French small-size warhead from a submarine-launched ballistic missile.