Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
25 October 2022 | 09:56 am CAT

Russia’s defence minister claims that Ukraine might use a “dirty bomb” and blame the resulting radioactive contamination on Moscow as the countries enter the eighth month of conflict.

“The aim of the provocation would be to accuse Russia of using a weapon of mass destruction in the Ukrainian military theatre and by that means to launch a powerful anti-Russian campaign in the world,” said the Russian defence minister, Sergey Shoigu.

Ukraine, France, the UK and the US have dismissed the allegations, citing that Russia did not provide any evidence to support its claim.

In a joint statement on Monday, the foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom and the United States said they had all rejected the allegations and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine against Russia.

“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,” the countries said.

The statement added, “The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation.”

Due to the claims, the United Nations (UN) nuclear watchdog is preparing to send inspectors to two Ukrainian sites upon Kyiv’s request in the coming days.

A “dirty bomb” is a device containing radioactive material and conventional explosives.