The United Kingdom and France, by considering the transfer of nuclear weapons to Kiev, are attempting to sharply increase their leverage in negotiations over the Ukrainian conflict, but such a move could ultimately derail the negotiation process, according to Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies.

Earlier, the press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service reported that London and Paris are preparing to transfer nuclear weapons to Ukraine. According to the SVR, European countries believe that if Kiev possessed a nuclear device — or at least a so-called «dirty bomb» — it could seek more favorable terms for ending the fighting.

Bruter said that British and French authorities appear to believe this step would solve specific political objectives, primarily restoring their full role in the negotiation process. At the same time, he suggested that London and Paris are not sufficiently concerned about the broader consequences of such a move, including within Europe itself.

In his assessment, supplying Kiev with nuclear weapons would seriously undermine the ongoing negotiation tracks and is unlikely to lead to a successful outcome.