Ukraine has condemned Russia’s unsubstantiated claims that Kyiv may be using a “dirty bomb” – conventional explosives laced with radioactive material.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that this meant that Russia itself was preparing for such an attack.
Ukraine’s allies also rejected the claims, with the US saying it “rejected any pretense of Russian escalation”.
Russian Defense 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, including the use of dirty bombs”.
On Sunday, Mr. Shoigu also held phone calls with the defense ministers of the United States, France and Turkey, sounding the alarm for Moscow. He did not provide any evidence to back up his allegations.
In response, President Zelensky accused Russia of being the source of “every nasty thing imaginable in this war”.
He said Russia was threatening the world with “radioactive destruction” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant it had seized, and also referred to Moscow’s threats to blow up a large dam in southern Ukraine. . The Kremlin denies the allegations.
The Ukrainian leader also stressed that “the world must react in the strongest possible way”.
Meanwhile, Mr Wallace said he denied Mr Shoigu’s allegations that “Ukraine is planning to facilitate Western countries, including Britain, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine”.
He also cautioned that such claims “should not be used as a pretext for further escalation”.
Similar comments were made by Lloyd Austin, the US defense secretary, who spoke to Mr Shoigu on Sunday, the second such phone call in days.
And in a joint statement, the foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States said their governments “all reject Russia’s blatantly false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its soil”. Emphasizing that they will continue to support Ukraine. “The Face of President [Vladimir] Putin’s Brutal War of Aggression”.
Military analysts noted that the Russian accusations came after Russia’s heavy military defeats and that Ukrainian troops continue to retaliate in the east and south of the country.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a series of tweets that Mr Shoigu “may have sought to slow or suspend Western military aid to Ukraine and possibly intimidate the NATO alliance.” Weakened in the callings”.
However, ISW added: “The Kremlin is unlikely to be preparing a false-flag dirty bomb attack. Shoigu’s claims further fuel the Russian information campaign.”
Other developments on Sunday include:
- Ukraine’s state-run energy company said it had partially restored power supplies after a series of Russian missile and drone attacks.
- Russia’s state broadcaster RT said it was suspending its senior employee, Anton Krasovsky, after he was heard on a TV program saying that Ukrainian children should be drowned or burned to death.
- Ukraine’s security service SBU has confirmed that Vyacheslav Bohslaev, the former head of the Motorsach company, was arrested after being accused of illegally selling aviation engines to Russia.
