Russia claims Ukraine is in the ‘final stage’ of creating a ‘dirty bomb’
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Russia has claimed that Ukraine is in the ‘final stage’ of making a ‘dirty bomb’, further raising fears that Moscow will carry out a false flag attack.
The claim came after Kiev’s top general admitted that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office is “concerned” about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s nuclear weapons.
In recent weeks, concerns have grown that Moscow could order its troops to detonate a dirty bomb itself, put the blame on Kiev and use it as justification to escalate the war further with a devastating nuclear attack.
After a series of embarrassing setbacks on the battlefield, the Russian despot made a thinly veiled threat late last month that he would be willing to resort to the use of nuclear weapons. The rattle of nuclear sabers also comes from other Russian hardliners.
On Monday, the Kremlin stuck to its claim that Ukraine may be preparing to detonate a so-called dirty bomb, which disperses radioactive material.
“According to the information we have, two organizations in Ukraine have specific instructions to create a so-called ‘dirty bomb’. This work is in its final stages,” Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said in a statement Monday.
Ukraine, the United States, Britain and France have rejected Moscow’s claim.
Pictured: Smoke rises from a building after it was attacked by Russian suicide drones in Kiev, Ukraine, on October 17, 2022. Russia has claimed that Ukraine is in the ‘final stage’ of making a ‘dirty bomb’, further raising fears that Moscow is carrying out a false flag attack
General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, was silent in assessing the threat posed by Putin’s nuclear weapons, saying he and other Ukrainian officials are “concerned” about Putin’s arsenal
General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, did not mince his words when assessing the threat posed by Putin’s nuclear weapons.
“We are and should be concerned,” he said ABC news in an interview released Monday.
Syrskiy, who won the Battle of Kiev in the spring and the Battle of Kharkov in September, said he was confident Ukraine would win the war over “the survival of our people.”
“Of course I think we will win. Because first and foremost we are winning the psychological battle,” he said.
“We are successful on the battlefield, but the war is difficult.”
The blistering Ukrainian counter-offensive, which drove the Russians out of land they had taken in the more industrial north, has now reached the agricultural south.
The main city of the southern region, Kherson was the first to fall by Moscow’s forces in the early days of the invasion, and its recapture would come at a great cost to Kiev.
But as Ukraine continues to increase its victories, Russia is becoming more desperate.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, particularly on energy facilities, after the bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia was partially destroyed by an explosion this month.
Last week, Putin declared martial law in four occupied regions, allowing their governments installed in Russia to ramp up mobilization.
Forcing civilians to serve in the armed forces of an occupying power is defined as a violation of the Geneva Conventions on Conduct of War.
While he is sure that Ukraine was winning the war, Syrskiy stressed the importance of persevering, saying there is “no option but to win.”
“We know what we’re fighting for,” he told ABC. ‘There have been no wars of this magnitude in Europe, or anywhere else in the world, since the Second World War.
“And we understand that this war is about the survival of our people and our state and therefore we have no choice but to win,” Syrskiy added.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke to his colleagues to “express concern about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a “dirty bomb” – a weapon that uses traditional explosives to contaminate an area with radioactive waste.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukraine is developing a dirty bomb during telephone conversations with his colleagues from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey this weekend.
Russia’s defense ministry said Shoigu expressed concern about “possible Ukrainian provocations with a “dirty bomb,” a device that uses explosives to disperse radioactive material.
Such a device does not have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but can expose large areas to radioactive contamination.
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Kremlin have not released any specific information to substantiate their claim.
But during Monday’s conversation with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted Shoigu’s warning reflected a real threat.
“Their distrust of the information provided by the Russian side does not mean that the threat of using such a dirty bomb does not exist,” Peskov said.
Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a US-supplied M777 howitzer in the eastern region of Donetsk, Sunday, October 23, 2022
Taisiia Kovaliova, 15, stands among the rubble of a playground in front of her house, hit by a Russian missile in Mykolaiv, Sunday, October 23, 2022
Victor walks across the forecourt of his garage that was completely destroyed during Russian attacks, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Balakliia, Ukraine, October 22
‘Such a threat exists and the Minister of Defense has passed on the information about it to his interlocutors. It’s up to them whether they trust it or not.’
Western allies said they reject “Russia’s transparent false accusations” and warned they would see through “any attempt to use this claim as a pretext for escalation” — the suggestion that Russia could be preparing for a “false flag” attack .
Ukraine’s top diplomat urged the UN nuclear watchdog to immediately dispatch an inspection team to the country to refute Moscow’s claim that Kiev is preparing a “provocation” involving a dirty bomb.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday he made the request in a meeting with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Kuleba said Grossi agreed to send a team of inspectors, adding that “unlike Russia, Ukraine has always been and remains transparent. We have nothing to hide.’