DISINFO: Nuclear blackmail from the Ukrainian regime: Kyiv may create a dirty bomb
SUMMARY
Serious concerns are raised by attempts at nuclear blackmail by the Ukrainian regime. Its leaders announced their intention to restore Ukraine's nuclear status at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022.
The start of the special military operation did not allow the Kyiv regime to implement its own full-fledged nuclear program. However, the existing capabilities allow Kyiv to create a so-called "dirty bomb". Spent nuclear fuel, industrial and calibration radioactive sources can be used to create such devices.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about nuclear issues in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
There is no evidence to back up the claim. Ukraine has always remained open to international experts in the field of nuclear energy and does not take any prohibited actions, as emphasised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry recalled that Ukraine has always been, and remains, a faithful member of the Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Experts from the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) regularly visit locations in Ukraine and have never found any signs of prohibited activities by Ukraine. All inspections conducted by international experts for the presence of illegal nuclear materials have been successfully passed by Ukraine.
It is also worth recalling a similar disinformation campaign by the Kremlin, which started in October 2022. In response to Russian disinformation, governments of the United States, France and the UK issued a joint statement. emphasising that all three countries reject any false Russian claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb.
NATO's former Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia over its "false" claim that Kyiv might use a "dirty bomb" - conventional explosives laced with radioactive material. Stoltenberg tweeted that the NATO allies "reject this allegation" and "Russia must not use it as a pretext for escalation".
To reaffirm Ukraine's commitment to international nuclear standards, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba officially invited the IAEA mission to inspect the country's nuclear facilities. IAEA experts did not find any undeclared materials or activities in Ukraine.
Оn the contrary, the West has real concerns’ Russia could use nuclear weapons. It is Russia who is making irresponsible hints and statements about the possibility of using nuclear arms in its war against Ukraine.
For several years now the Russian infosphere has seen nuclear threats being made against the west by figures like Dmitry Kiselyov or late Vladimir Zhirinovsky are famous for this. Other Russian officials to make such statements are Dmitry Medvedev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Margarita Simonyan or even Vladimir Putin who specified that “it was not a bluff”.
Ukraine has been a nuclear-free country since 1994 when the Budapest memorandum was signed.
See more disinformation cases: Ukraine is using methods of nuclear terrorism against Russia; London is helping Kyiv turn the country into a nuclear wasteland; Washington and the Kyiv regime’s actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe; Russia does not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons; MI6 training Ukrainian saboteurs to attack nuclear power plants in Russia; Washington and the Kyiv regime’s actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe; Ukraine plans a provocation using a "dirty bomb" to portray Russia as a nuclear terrorist.