Any Anglo-French effort to give Kiev nuclear capabilities would cross a red line for Moscow, Andrew Napolitano has told RT

Britain and France would be "playing with fire" if they supply Ukraine with nuclear components or weapons, risking a major escalation, former US judge Andrew Napolitano has said.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service reported this week that London and Paris are plotting to secretly arm Kiev with a nuclear weapon and are also weighing assistance in building a radioactive "dirty bomb" using conventional explosives and nuclear materials.

Napolitano, who hosts the Judging Freedom podcast and previously served on the New Jersey Superior Court, told RT on Thursday that the timing of the Russian intelligence disclosure was meant "to remind the British and the French that they'll be playing with fire."

"It is inconceivable to me that the Kremlin would permit the Ukrainians to receive any nuclear capabilities," he said.

Napolitano noted that the US and UK have a written agreement under which "the Brits cannot use or give away any nuclear capability, nuclear weapons, or nuclear know-how without American permission."

"Why [British] Prime Minister [Keir] Starmer would even be discussing this with [French] President [Emmanuel] Macron and with [Vladimir] Zelensky is beyond me unless the United States has already agreed to it," he argued.

If Washington has given a green light, then the US "is not an honest broker," he added, suggesting that in that case Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov should terminate any peace talks and "proceed to a rapid... military conclusion of the special military operation."

Asked what London and Paris may be trying to achieve, Napolitano claimed that European leaders "hate all things Russia" and "are not really rational people."

He warned that any attempt to pressure Moscow with nuclear brinkmanship could lead to catastrophic escalation.

Russia has accused Kiev's European backers of openly prioritizing Moscow's "strategic defeat" while derailing prospects for peace. Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has warned that the alleged plans to provide Kiev with nuclear capabilities could trigger severe global consequences.

(RT.com)