Russia: Response was needed to threat of Ukraine acquiring nuclear weapons

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that the “real danger” of Ukraine acquiring nuclear weapons required a response from Moscow, Reuters reports.

“Today, the dangers that [Ukrainian President] Zelensky’s regime pose for neighboring countries and international security in general have increased substantially after the authorities set up in Kyiv have embarked upon dangerous games related to plans to acquire their own nuclear weapons,” Lavrov said while speaking at a disarmament meeting in Geneva, according to the news service.

“Ukraine still has Soviet nuclear technologies and the means of delivery of such weapons. We cannot fail to respond to this real danger,” Lavrov added.

Representatives from multiple nations reportedly did not attend Lavrov’s speech and staged a similar boycott of his remarks at a United Nations human rights forum on Tuesday.

A moment of silence was held before the speeches for the Ukrainian victims of Russia’s invasion, Reuters noted.

Moscow invaded Ukraine last week, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying the former Soviet republic needed to be “demilitarized” and “denazified.” Putin’s justification was quickly dismissed by Ukraine and its allies as propaganda.