Authorization by the United States and the United Kingdom for Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory has led to nuclear saber-rattling from Putin, with Moscow firing missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads into Ukraine.

The Biden administration's recent decision to approve the use of ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 190 miles, led to accusations that Washington was escalating tensions between Russia and the West. Conservative voices online began sharing claims that the White House was considering giving Kyiv back nuclear weapons that it gave up in the mid-1990s.

Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs says that the U.S. sending nuclear weapons to a non-nuclear state would violate the 1968 non-proliferation treaty.

“In theory, the U.S. could station U.S. nuclear weapons in Ukraine and maintain command authority of them, like it does in several NATO member states,” says Taylor. “But it's extremely difficult to imagine that happening.”

Read more in the Newsweek article, “Fact Check: Is Biden Admin Considering Giving Nukes Back to Ukraine?”

Taylor also spoke with War & Politics 24 about the changes that await Ukraine after Trump's election as president of the United States, his first important appointments, and how the top Russian commander of the Black Sea Fleet was killed in Sevastopol.