At the initiative of Russia, which has sent a message on the matter to both the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General, the UN Security Council discussed Russia’s allegations that Ukraine is manufacturing a “dirty bomb”, accusations denied by Kiev and the West.
“We believe it is a serious danger, a serious threat,” said Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky after the meeting.
“Ukraine has the capabilities and motivation to do so, because (Volodymyr) Zelensky’s regime wants to avoid defeat and wants to involve NATO in a direct confrontation with Russia,” he said.
Moscow first made these allegations on Sunday during telephone conversations between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his American, French, British and Turkish counterparts, citing “possible provocations by Ukraine using a dirty bomb”.
On Monday, the United States, Britain and France rejected the “false” Russian allegations in a joint statement. “The world wouldn’t be stupid if you tried to use this claim as a pretext for escalation,” the statement said.
At the end of the Security Council meeting, British Deputy Ambassador James Kariuki said: “We have not seen or heard any new evidence in this private meeting”, denouncing “Russian misinformation”.
“Ukraine has nothing to hide and IAEA inspectors are on their way,” he added.
At the request of Kiev, which has requested the sending of experts, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on Monday that it will send experts “in the next few days”.
“I really doubt he can be absolutely certain that there is no such activity, even after this visit,” Polyansky said, adding that “it is very difficult to detect activities that try to make these dirty bombs.”
A radioactive bomb, or “dirty bomb,” contains conventional explosives surrounded by radioactive material that disperses into dust during detonation.
Two more Security Council meetings are planned this week at the request of Russia. The first was on Wednesday to explain the reasons for the UN’s refusal to investigate the rallies the West accused Iran of providing Moscow in its war against Ukraine; And on the second Thursday to discuss Russian biological weapons allegations in Ukraine.
