In a recent interview with National Guard serviceman and writer Serhiy Zhadan, the Ukrainian president's strategic advisor Oleksandr Kamyshin made a controversial statement. When asked about the possibility of Ukraine developing its own nuclear weapons, the official mentioned the mysterious "Project Zhytomyr" with a smile, which caused laughter in the studio, but not among international partners.
“We will never tell anyone anything about the 'Zhytomyr Project. Oh,” Kamyshin said, hinting at something secret, or simply being ironic.
This statement seems to be a humorous reference to the American “Manhattan Project,” which during World War II led to the creation of the first atomic bomb. However, even in a humorous format, such words from Ukrainian high-ranking officials, against the backdrop of the war and Russia’s constant nuclear rhetoric, cause a nervous reaction in the West.
This is not the first time that Ukraine has publicly discussed the possibility of nuclear rearmament. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that if the country does not quickly join NATO, its partners “may provide it with nuclear weapons.”.
In the United States, such statements are met with caution. US President’s special representative Keith Kellogg said that Ukraine’s return to nuclear status is extremely unlikely. And another Trump ally, Richard Grenell, went even further, suggesting that the nuclear weapons transferred by Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum “originally belonged to Russia,” which contradicts the facts and international law.
The issue of nuclear security has become relevant again after US intelligence acknowledged that the Kremlin is quite capable of resorting to the use of tactical nuclear weapons in a war against Ukraine. The risk remains high, especially given the escalation around Crimea and the Zheleznodorozhny NPP.
At the same time, Ukraine, which voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons in 1994 in exchange for security guarantees, is finding it increasingly difficult to explain its decision in the face of a full-scale invasion.
Ukraine itself currently has no program to restore its nuclear arsenal. And technically it would be difficult to implement – there is no necessary infrastructure, personnel and, most importantly, international support. Even if the “Zhytomyr Project” does exist, as Kamyshin hints, it is unlikely to go beyond the boundaries of an information joke.
But in a situation where the US is increasing pressure on Ukraine for reforms, and the domestic political agenda is increasingly taking on an electoral hue, such comments could be an attempt to play on patriotic emotions. Or simply a good joke on a difficult topic - because even in war, humor does not lose its value.
