Russia’s Defence Minister alleges Ukraine preparing to drop "dirty bomb"

IRYNA BALACHUK – SUNDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2022, 14:52

In a telephone conversation, Sergey Shoigu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, told his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu that Ukraine is allegedly preparing provocations involving a "dirty bomb".

Source: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation on Telegram; RIA Novosti, a Kremlin-aligned Russian media outlet

Quote from the Russian Ministry of Defence: "Shoigu conveyed to his French counterpart his unease related to a possible provocation from Ukraine’s side using a ‘dirty bomb’."

Details: The Russian Ministry of Defence additionally stated that the two ministers discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine and its "clear tendency for further uncontrollable escalation".

Russian propaganda media outlet RIA Novosti earlier alleged, citing its sources, that the Ukrainian government is preparing "a provocation on its own territory involving the detonation of a so-called ‘dirty bomb’ or a low-yield nuclear munition" in order to accuse Russia.

The Russian propagandists have come up with a narrative according to which "Kyiv has already started to take steps to realise this plan under the guidance of their Western allies." RIA Novosti claimed that the leaders of the Skhidnyi (Eastern) Ore Mining and Processing Plant (located in the city of Zhovti Vody in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine) and the Kyiv Institute for Nuclear Research have received an order to manufacture the "dirty bomb".

The Kremlin’s propaganda operatives have asserted that the production of the "dirty bomb" has entered its final stage.

RIA Novosti also reported that the Office of the President of Ukraine is having covert discussions with the UK regarding the "possible handover of nuclear weapons parts to the government in Kyiv".

Background: 

• During a speech at the Kremlin on 30 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US had set a precedent [for using nuclear weapons] by using nuclear weapons in 1945.
• Western leaders condemned Putin’s rhetoric as "irresponsible escalation" and "sabre-rattling".
• Reuters reported that a Russian nuclear strike would almost certainly provoke a "physical response" from Ukraine's allies and potentially from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, citing a senior NATO official.
• The West will give a powerful military response to Russia’s possible use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine, but that response will not be nuclear, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on Thursday, 13 October.

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