Russia will never allow Ukraine to develop nuclear weapons: Putin

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia will never allow Ukraine to develop its own nuclear weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

In a meeting with BRICS media managers, Putin commented on media reports claiming Ukraine’s plans to develop weapons of mass destruction.

“This is another provocation,” he said.

“It is not difficult to create nuclear weapons in the modern world. I do not know if Ukraine is capable of doing this now. This is not so easy for Ukraine today. But in general, there are no big difficulties here. Everything is clear how it is done,” the president added.

Putin stressed that Russia is capable of tracing any Ukraine's actions toward obtaining nuclear weapons, saying such things are "impossible to conceal."

He warned that any step to create nuclear weapons in Ukraine would meet "an appropriate reaction."