(Brussels) NATO and the West warned Russia on Monday that it should not create an “escalation” in the conflict in Ukraine under the “pretext” of a “dirty bomb” that Moscow again accuses Kyiv of preparing .
Updated yesterday at 8:09 p.m.
Moscow had first advanced these accusations on Sunday during telephone conversations between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his American, French, British and Turkish counterparts.
What is a “dirty bomb”?
A “dirty bomb” is not a nuclear bomb but a conventional bomb surrounded by radioactive materials intended to be disseminated in the form of dust at the time of the explosion.
The term “dirty bomb”, also called “radiological dispersal device” (RDD), more generally refers to any detonating device that disseminates one or more chemically or biologically toxic products (CBRN-nuclear, radiological, biological or chemical).
This type of bomb is not considered an atomic weapon, the explosion of which results from nuclear fission (A-bomb) or fusion (H-bomb) and causes immense destruction in a wide radius. The manufacture of an atomic bomb requires the use of complex uranium enrichment technologies.
Much less complex to make, the “dirty bomb” uses a conventional explosive and its main purpose is to contaminate a geographical area and the people who are there both by direct radiation and by ingestion or contamination. inhalation of radioactive materials.
The main danger of a “dirty bomb” comes from the explosion and not from the radiation. Only people very close to the blast site would be exposed to radiation sufficient to cause immediate serious illness.
However, radioactive dust and smoke can travel further and pose a health hazard if the dust is inhaled or contaminated food or water is ingested.
“NATO Allies reject this allegation. Russia must not use this as a pretext for an escalation” of the conflict in Ukraine, NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg tweeted on Monday evening after talks with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Britain’s Minister of Security. the Ben Wallace Defense.
Paris, London and Washington had previously lambasted together on Monday “false” statements from Moscow: “No one would be fooled by an attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for an escalation”.
A radiological bomb or “dirty bomb” consists of conventional explosives surrounded by radioactive materials intended to be disseminated during the explosion.
Earlier on Monday, General Igor Kirillov, the Russian army’s radioactive, chemical and biological substances officer, reiterated the accusations, saying that the making of a “dirty bomb” by the Ukrainians, who would accuse then Russia of having used it, had “entered its final phase”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured Monday that “there are serious suspicions that such things can be planned”.
“Of course, we see the reaction from the Western media. She does not surprise us. It goes in the direction of reckless support for his protege Zelensky, providing him with indulgence for any Russophobic action, not only in words, but in the bombardment of civilian targets, of civilian populations,” added the head of Russian diplomacy. at a press conference in Moscow.
“We will solve the problem of the dirty bomb until the end. We have every interest in preventing such a terrible provocation,” he added.
Russian Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov also spoke on Monday with his American counterparts, General Mark Milley, and British, Admiral Tony Radakin, about the “dirty bomb”, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The British Ministry of Defense indicated that Tony Radakin “dismissed the Russian allegations”.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky again mocked Monday evening, during his daily address, the “various nonsense about Ukraine” uttered by Moscow: “Ukraine is breaking up the so-called second army in the world, and now Russia will only beg”.
The IAEA will come on site
Dmytro Kouleba asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to “urgently send experts” to the two structures where Russia “misleadingly claims” that Ukraine is developing a “dirty bomb”.
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, confirmed a visit “in the coming days” in a press release Monday evening, specifying that one of the two places had been inspected “a month ago” and that “no nuclear activity undeclared had been found there”.
Ukrainians and Westerners alike see it as a threat of preparations for a false flag attack, suspecting Russia of being prepared to detonate a “dirty bomb” itself to justify military escalation, for example by employing a tactical nuclear weapon in retaliation.
“There is a recurring pattern in this conflict […] The Russians blamed the Ukrainians and other countries for what they themselves were planning. This is what worries us, ”reacted US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Nevertheless, “we saw no reason to change our nuclear posture” and “no indication that the Russians were preparing to deploy a nuclear weapon”, he said.
At the start of its offensive, Moscow had already accused Ukraine of preparing bacteriological weapons in secret laboratories financed by the United States, allegations denied by Kyiv.
The ‘dirty bomb’ allegations come as Russian forces are struggling on multiple fronts in Ukraine, having lost thousands of square kilometers in the northeast in September and now retreating in the Kherson region (south), where the Russian occupation authorities organize evacuations of the population.
The Ukrainian command announced on Monday that it had taken over 90 localities in total in the Kherson region, one of the four territories of Ukraine which Moscow claimed for annexation in September, and four villages in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk (east) .
Drones and electricity
Moscow has carried out several series of massive strikes in recent weeks, including with Iranian-made suicide drones, against Ukrainian critical infrastructure.
The Ukrainian president assured Monday that Russia had ordered “around 2,000 Iranian Shahed drones” to support its bombing campaign in Ukraine. He criticized the neutrality observed by Israel since the invasion of his country by Russia, which according to him allowed an “alliance” between Moscow and Tehran and the delivery of Iranian drones to the Russian army.
“We have not provided Russia with any weapons or drones to use in the war against Ukraine,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed on Monday, repeating previous denials. “Should it become clear to us that Russia used Iranian drones against Ukraine, we will certainly not be indifferent to this issue.”
Russian shelling caused further power cuts across Ukraine on Sunday, prompting restrictions and calls for rationing.
More than a million Ukrainian homes have been without electricity following Russian attacks on electricity infrastructure, the Ukrainian presidency said on Saturday. Rotating power cuts took place in different parts of Kyiv on Monday.
Russia, for its part, denounces a “considerable increase” in Ukrainian fire targeting its border regions, in particular those of Belgorod and Kursk where defense lines are being built in the event of an attack.