Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterates ‘dirty bomb’ claims
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on the Ukrainian authorities and their “Western sponsors” to stop preparing a “false flag attack” involving a “dirty bomb.”
The demand, which was posted on the Interior Ministry’s official site, largely repeats an earlier statement from the Russian Defense Ministry that claimed Ukraine was planning to accuse Russia of accidentally detonating a low-capacity Russian nuclear warhead.
Zakharova also named specific facilities that she claimed are building the alleged Ukrainian “dirty bomb,” including a mining and processing plant in Zhovti Vody, a village in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih municipality. “We cannot rule out the possibility that [Ukraine is] receiving assistance from several Western countries that, according to our sources, are in negotiations with Ukraine regarding the provision of components for the ‘dirty bomb,’” she said. “[...] ‘The West would be ill-advised to test our red line.’”
On October 23, the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu called his counterparts in four NATO states to alert each of them individually of an impending Ukrainian “false flag attack” involving a “dirty bomb.” Ukrainian authorities have called the reports a lie.
Western countries believe Russia is using the warnings about a “dirty bomb” as a pretext to for further escalation. “Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory,” read a joint statement from the U.S., British, and French governments.
The real nuclear threats
Even if Russia doesn’t use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, the invasion could still result in nuclear disaster. For months, Russian troops have occupied the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear energy facility. In August, Meduza spoke to radiochemist Boris Zhuikov about what a meltdown at the plant would look like.
