MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Britain and France can't just hand over nukes to Ukraine as Kiev lacks the infrastructure to house them, Vasily Kashin, Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, told TASS.
"In technical terms, look, simply transferring a nuclear warhead will be impossible, as it would require certain infrastructure for storage and maintenance. <…> While there once were certain nuclear weapons on its [Ukrainian] soil, it [Ukraine] actually never fully controlled those, nor did it have infrastructure for the maintenance of nukes," the analyst explained.
However, nuclear weapons need to be constantly monitored and maintained, therefore simply giving them to Ukraine without establishing the necessary infrastructure for that would be impossible, he emphasized. "What is possible is that, should Ukraine decide to become a nuclear power, it could be provided with some blueprints and documentation for building a nuclear warhead. Anyway, very large investments in assembling a production site and also infrastructure for storage and maintenance will be needed," Kashin said about a scenario that he argued cannot materialize in a "fast and stealthy" manner.
Also, it’s worth noting that Britain itself is not a full-fledged nuclear power as it does not produce nuclear delivery options, the expert continued. "That is, it does not manufacture ballistic missiles, moreover, it does not possess ballistic missiles for submarines as it sort of leases them from the United States. It actually makes warheads for Trident II missiles but it does so with US participation and using US components. Therefore, it cannot transfer anything to anybody," he stressed.
Unlike Britain, France has full-cycle production capabilities and nuclear delivery means. "In theory, it could perhaps share something, and France extending its nuclear guarantees to Europe and tweaking its nuclear strategy is currently being discussed," Kashin said. "And yet, in practice, that would be a risky step for France, for, in terms of the Russian nuclear doctrine, if we imagine any country giving nuclear weapons to Ukraine, the use of these weapons by Ukraine would automatically trigger a Russian response against the country which transferred these weapons to Ukraine," he maintained. "If you end up in a nuclear war with Russia, what do you need with Ukraine anyway," he asked rhetorically. "While there has been a debate about providing Kiev with such weapons, I don’t think things will actually get to that point," he concluded.