Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has strongly denied the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine is planning to detonate a ‘dirty bomb’, as his Russian counterpart warned of an ‘uncontrollable escalation’.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed the claims as ‘Russian lies’ which are ‘as absurd as they are dangerous’.
In a rare phone call with Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Mr. Wallace denied that the West was conspiring with Kyiv to ‘facilitate’ a planned escalation of the conflict.
Mr. Shoigu claimed that Ukraine was planning to use a dirty bomb – a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste – and blame it on Russia, but provided no evidence to support the allegations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that the international community was unlikely to believe the claims.
Mr. Wallace cautioned Moscow’s defence chief against using such allegations as a ‘pretext for greater escalation’.
The call – which was held at Russia’s request – came as Mr. Shoigu suggested Kyiv was planning a false flag attack in conversations with French, Turkish and US officials.
Mr. Kuleba said: ‘Firstly, we neither have any “dirty bombs” nor plan to acquire any. Secondly, Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves.’
Mr. Zelensky also implied that Moscow was setting the stage for deploying a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil.
