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Russia’s defense chief on Sunday alleged that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that was strongly rejected by Ukrainian and British officials amid soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey.
Russia’s defense ministry said Shoigu voiced concern about “possible Ukrainian provocations involving a ‘dirty bomb,’” a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste. It doesn’t have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but it could expose broad areas to radioactive contamination.
Russian authorities repeatedly have made allegations that Ukraine could detonate a dirty bomb in a false flag attack and blame it on Moscow. Ukrainian authorities, in turn, have accused the Kremlin of hatching such a plan.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace strongly rejected Shoigu’s claim and warned Moscow against using it as a pretext for escalation.
The British Ministry of Defense noted that Shoigu in a call with Wallace “alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.”
PHOTOS: Russia builds defensive lines to stem Ukraine’s advance
“The Defense Secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation,” the ministry said. “The Defense Secretary also reiterated UK and wider international support for Ukraine and desire to de-escalate this conflict.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted the international community was unlikely to believe Shoigu’s claims, and implied that Moscow was setting the stage for deploying a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil.
“If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means only one thing: that Russia has already prepared all of it,” Zelenskyy said in a televised address Sunday evening.
Ukraine’s top diplomat, Dmytro Kuleba, said his country neither has dirty bombs nor plans to acquire them.
