A former Soviet nuclear safety chief has sounded a stark warning over reports that the United Kingdom and France may consider providing nuclear weapons to Ukraine.

Professor Vladimir Kuznetsov, former head of the USSR State Atomic Energy Supervision Inspection, said that such a move would be unprecedented and could trigger catastrophic consequences, The Caspian Post reports via Russian media.

“Transferring nuclear explosive technologies and delivery systems… is simply impossible,” Kuznetsov said, noting that no precedent exists for such an action. He also suggested that rumors of arming Kyiv could be fabricated by London or Paris to pressure Russia.

Kuznetsov said that if the transfer actually occurred, Russia would have no choice but to consider a preemptive nuclear strike on both countries, effectively ending their existence. He stressed that such a scenario would be apparent even at the stage of transfer, leaving only one logical response from Moscow.

Kuznetsov also noted that any potential transfer would require US approval, which he doubts the United States would grant, given the immediate risk to themselves. He further argued that to counter Western nuclear ambitions for Ukraine, Russia might resume nuclear tests to reinforce its strategic deterrence.

The warning comes after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported that London and Paris are reportedly preparing to supply Ukraine with nuclear weapons - a move that would violate international law, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and risk destabilizing the global nonproliferation system.