Kyiv denounces Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claims
Ukraine has condemned unsubstantiated claims by Russia that Kyiv might use a “dirty bomb” – conventional explosives laced with radioactive material.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this meant Russia itself could be preparing for an attack of this kind.
Ukraine’s allies also dismissed the claims, with the US saying it “rejected any pretext for Russian escalation”.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the dirty bomb remarks in a call with his UK counterpart Ben Wallace.
He said he was “concerned about possible provocations by Kyiv involving the use of a dirty bomb”.
On Sunday, Shoigu also held a flurry of phone calls with defence ministers of the US, France and Turkey, voicing Moscow’s alarm. He provided no evidence to back up his accusations.
He said Russia was threatening the world “with a radiation disaster” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant which it had captured and also spoke of Moscow’s threats to detonate a major dam in southern Ukraine. The Kremlin denies the allegations.
The Ukrainian leader also stressed that “the world should react in the toughest possible way”.
Meanwhile, Wallace said he refuted Mr Shoigu’s allegations that “Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine”.
He also cautioned that such claims “should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation”.
Similar comments were made by the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, who spoke to Mr Shoigu on Sunday, in what was the second such phone call in days.
Agencies