Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova answered a reporter’s question at her briefing on Nov. 27 about press reports of possible Western arming of Ukraine with nuclear weapons, by stating, “I cannot say that we have any factual information that we can share at this stage,” but it is in the interest of “truly responsible states” to prevent Ukraine from having nuclear weapons.
TASS further reported that Zakharova added: “The irresponsible actions of the Kiev regime and its Western handlers can bring the entire world to the brink of disaster,” noting that the world majority was “perfectly aware” of the seriousness of the threat. “We treat this [the transfer of nuclear weapons to Kiev] as madness. It is absolute madness, which is imposed by the West on this gang in Ukraine,” she said. “I don’t know what this motivation is aimed at. It is some kind of stimulating propaganda idea for the West, [with] which they prompt the Kiev regime.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also slammed talk of giving nuclear weapons to Ukraine. “I do not know who these people are who say such things. I have repeatedly heard similar statements from responsible—or rather irresponsible—parties in Kiev. However, such a step would mean not only the collapse of the whole system of non-proliferation and arms control, which still stands despite the destructive U.S. discourse, but also the biggest step towards further and completely uncontrolled spread of the conflict,” Ryabkov told Sputnik.
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also responded to a question by VGTRK reporter Pavel Zarubin on this matter. “Politicians are politicians precisely for this reason, to constantly keep public attention on their person. We also have politicians who talk about escalation. Decisions are made by the supreme commander-in-chief. I have a hope that it should be the same in the United States,” Lavrov said. Slamming certain NATO officials calling for the possibility of preemptive strikes against Russia, Lavrov said, “These claims were made by some admiral. Absolutely reckless. They have a lot of high-ranking military officials who have never even seen real battle. They also want to pander to the higher-ups when they see the possibility.”
Lavrov’s comments may well have been directed at either NATO Military Committee Chairman Adm. Rob Bauer (U.S.), who called for producing more weapons for precision strikes deep into Russia in the event of a conflict, and/or Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan, the spokesman for the Pentagon’s Strategic Command, who talked about the manner in which the U.S. could find a nuclear war with Russia acceptable.
