In separate phone calls with his Indian and Chinese counterparts – Rajnath Singh and Wei Fenghe – on Wednesday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu accused Ukraine of “possible provocations” with the use of a ‘dirty bomb.’
In response, Singh reiterated India’s position of pursuing the “path of dialogue and diplomacy for an early resolution of the conflict” and emphasised that the “nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity.”
🇷🇺☎️🇮🇳 On October 26, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, had a telephone conversation w/ Defence Minister of #India Rajnath Singh. They discussed situation in #Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu conveyed his concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb’. pic.twitter.com/QIWIoYnKzU
— Russia in India 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbIndia) October 26, 2022
The Chinese Ministry of National Defence’s press release, meanwhile, made no reference to Shoigu’s allegations, merely noting that Shoigu and Wei had discussed “international and regional issues of common concern.”
Shoigu also raised concerns about a possible ‘dirty bomb’ attack with his British, French, and Turkish counterparts – Ben Wallace, Sebastian Lecornu, and Hulusi Akar. However, he did not discuss the matter with United States (US) Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin during their rare phone call last week.
Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov also discussed the threat with his British counterpart Antony Radakin on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, too, accused Kyiv of building a ‘dirty bomb’ during a meeting with the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) Security and Intelligence agencies. He claimed that Ukraine “is being flooded with weapons, including heavy weaponry, without any heed to the Kyiv regime’s statements about its desire to obtain nuclear weapons.”
Likewise, on Tuesday, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Dmitry Polyansky, presented evidence of Ukraine preparing for a ‘dirty bomb’ attack at a closed-door UN Security Council meeting.
Today I spoke with 🇺🇳 @jensstoltenberg about #Russia's false claim that #Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own soil. The U.S. rejects any attempt to create pretexts for Russian escalation. We stand with NATO Allies in support for Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/CPEKUUfCeq
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 25, 2022
Russian Chief of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops Igor Kirillov claimed in a statement that Ukraine is planning to fire a ‘dirty bomb’ and had nearly completed building one at two of its nuclear facilities – the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Dnipropetrovsk and the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv. “Ukraine expects ‘dirty bomb’ provocation to intimidate the population, increase the flow of refugees, and accuse the Russian Federation of nuclear terrorism,” he alleged, adding that the Russian forces are already being trained to “operate amid radioactive contamination.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov thus asserted on Tuesday that Russia “will vigorously continue to explain its point of view to the world community in order to encourage it to take active steps in terms of preventing such irresponsible behaviour by the Kyiv regime.”
In a joint statement on Sunday, however, the US, the United Kingdom (UK), and France rejected Russia’s “transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory,” calling it a “pretext for escalation” by Russia.
Russian lies about Ukraine allegedly planning to use a ‘dirty bomb’ are as absurd as they are dangerous. Firstly, Ukraine is a committed NPT member: we neither have any ‘dirty bombs’, nor plan to acquire any. Secondly, Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 23, 2022
Ukraine, too, has denied all allegations of making a ‘dirty bomb,’ with President Volodymyr Zelensky claiming that Russia “has already prepared” such a weapon and called for stronger measures against Moscow.
Against this backdrop, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will send its officials to monitor the nuclear sites in Ukraine “within days” in an effort to “cool off” the escalating situation. “They’re going to go there and check the material balance, because we know every gram of nuclear material in Ukraine,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi revealed.
However, executive director of the Arms Control Association, Daryl Kimball, claimed, “No matter how extensive the IAEA’s monitoring of Ukrainian nuclear facilities might be, no matter how thorough it is, Russia will seek to spread disinformation and try to discredit the agency’s work.”
A ‘dirty bomb’ is a low-grade radioactive explosive that contaminates a smaller region and is mostly aimed at creating terror instead of mass killings.