Ukraine denies Russia’s dirty bomb accusations

Euskaraz irakurri: Errusiak bonba zikinen balizko erabilerari buruz egindako akusazioak ukatu ditu Ukrainak

Eight months after the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has accused Ukraine of wanting to use a dirty bomb or radiological weapon. The Ukrainian authorities have denied the accusations and believe that Russia is looking for excuses to justify the use of nuclear weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the threat of a nuclear attack on more than one occasion, with unforeseeable consequences for both the region and the world.

The main element of dirty bombs is common explosives, such as dynamite, but it also includes pellets or radioactive dust. The detonation of the device causes the associated material to spread in the nearby area. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded two decades ago that “the most serious impact” of a radiological weapon would be “the panic and social disturbances” that the detonation would cause, comparable in its effects to “an act of terrorism” .

France, the UK and the US believe that Russia’s accusations that Ukraine is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” are “patently false”. “No one would be fooled by an attempt to use this accusation as a pretext for escalation. More generally, we reject any pretext for escalation by Russia,” the parties said in a joint statement, broadcast overnight.

Situation on the war front

The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the southern region of Kherson, where kyiv continues to recover territory, has caused Russia to find itself faced with a dilemma: fight or, on the contrary, withdraw.

According to kyiv and some Western analyses, Russian troops have already begun to withdraw in parallel with the evacuation of civilians from the region and from the only provincial capital under their control.

The General Staff stated that “the enemy has completely abandoned the towns of Charivne and Chkalove – some 50 kilometers north of the Russian-controlled city of Nova Kakhovka and on the left bank of the Dnieper River – and that the officers and the medical personnel “have been evacuated from Berislav, just opposite.

Losing Kherson, essential for the land corridor it has managed to create from east to south and for the protection and water supply of the annexed Crimean peninsula, Russia would suffer one of the hardest blows since the start of the war.