ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said that he has not been offered nuclear weapons by the UK or France, but stressed that he would accept such an offer “with pleasure.”

“With pleasure, but I didn’t have propositions. But with pleasure,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Sky News, an excerpt of which was shared by Ukrainian media outlets, including the RBC-Ukraine news agency, when asked about Russian claims that Ukraine is "trying to get a nuclear weapon via Britain and France."

“No, it’s not happening,” Zelenskyy went on to say, commenting on if such a thing would take place.

Earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service accused the UK and France of actively working to provide Kyiv with a nuclear bomb.

It claimed that Britain and France believe that, by possessing nuclear weapons, Ukraine would be able to secure more favorable terms for ending the conflict, which entered its fifth year on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Zelenskyy had previously rejected Russia's accusations, dismissing them as pressure tactics ahead of upcoming US-mediated peace talks.