A German tabloid has claimed that Kiev has the capability to build a nuclear weapon “in a few weeks”

The report published by Bild on Thursday, cited a high-ranking Ukrainian official.

Meanwhile Zelensky’s adviser Dmitry Litvin denied Bild’s report. He told the Ukrainian outlet Strana that it was “nonsense” and suggesting that the German tabloid could “be confused with Russian propaganda.”

However, also this week, Zelensky did appear to suggest that his country would seek nuclear weapons if they were refused NATO membership

RT reports: The report comes after Zelensky alluded to such a possibility during a visit to Brussels on the same day. The Ukrainian leader claimed his country needs either nuclear weapons or membership of NATO.

Zelensky is currently promoting his ‘victory plan’ to Ukraine’s Western backers, which he argues can end the conflict with Russia.

Bild has now revealed that a Ukrainian official involved in weapons procurement claimed “a few months ago” that Kiev was willing to go nuclear.

“We have the material, we have the knowledge. If the order is given, we will only need a few weeks to have the first bomb,” the unnamed official said, according to the German tabloid. He added that the West should “think less about Russia’s red lines and more about ours.”

Zelensky’s adviser Dmitry Litvin denied Bild’s report, however, telling the Ukrainian outlet Strana on Thursday that it was “nonsense” and suggesting that the German tabloid “can be confused with Russian propaganda.”

In his speech on Thursday, Zelensky claimed to have informed US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about Kiev’s possible atomic aspirations.

“Speaking to Donald Trump, I told him: What is the way out for us? Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and they will serve as protection, or we need to be in some kind of an alliance. We don’t know any effective alliances except NATO,” Zelensky said. He also claimed that Trump agreed with him.

The former president has made no mention of Zelensky’s nuclear proposal, however. In the time since their meeting, he also made the case in an interview that nuclear weapons were the greatest threat to humanity and that he had hoped to make a global deal on eventual denuclearization during his first term in the White House.