Russia will not allow Ukraine to create nuclear weapons — Lavrov - TASS

Ukraine has the technical potential for creating nuclear weapons and Russia will not allow it to do that, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Al Jazeera TV Channel on Wednesday.

It is necessary to define specific types of weapons that will never be created in Ukraine, Russia’s top diplomat emphasized.

"There is technical, technological potential [for Ukraine to create nuclear weapons]. This is what [Russian] President Vladimir Putin spoke about and our experts also commented on this situation. I can say responsibly that we will not allow that. There must be defined specific types of strike weapons that will never be deployed or created in Ukraine," Lavrov pointed out.

The aim of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine is to "protect people, first of all, in Donbass," the foreign minister said.