BUDAPEST, October 18. /TASS/. Western special services are trying to find out whether Ukraine can actually develop nuclear weapons, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Kossuth radio.

Commenting on reports from Kiev that Ukraine allegedly has the ability to develop nuclear weapons, he said: "Special services are working to find out whether Ukraine really has a strategy to develop nuclear weapons."

Orban also pointed out that during his last meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev in July, he did not hear from him about any plans for nuclear weapons. "Perhaps there were some nuances because of the translation, but it did not seem to me that the Ukrainians want to become a nuclear power. However, such a possibility is frightening. Such an existing or non-existing Ukrainian plan is causing a wave of panic throughout Europe. Everyone feels that a European war is on the doorstep, so this should definitely be clarified," the prime minister said.

Zelensky said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on October 17 that the Ukrainian authorities would not develop nuclear weapons.

Earlier, Germany’s Bild newspaper quoted a source as saying that the Ukrainian leadership was seriously considering the possibility of restoring nuclear weapons stockpiles. According to it, a Ukrainian source said that Kiev "will only need a few weeks to get its first bomb." Zelensky's entourage responded to the Bild article by saying that the newspaper had "thrown nonsense into the information space."