Ukraine and UK dismiss Russia's defence chief warning of 'dirty bomb' provocation
Russia's defence chief on Sunday alleged that Ukraine was preparing a "provocation" involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that was strongly rejected by Ukrainian and British officials amid soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey.
Russia's defence ministry said Mr Shoigu voiced concern about "possible Ukrainian provocations involving a 'dirty bomb'," a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste.
It does not have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but it could expose broad areas to radioactive contamination.
Russian authorities repeatedly have made allegations that Ukraine could detonate a dirty bomb in a false flag attack and blame it on Moscow. Ukrainian authorities, in turn, have accused the Kremlin of hatching such a plan.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace strongly rejected Mr Shoigu's claim and warned Moscow against using it as a pretext for escalation.
The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) noted that Mr Shoigu in a call with Wallace "alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine".
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"The Defence Secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation," the MOD said.
"The Defence Secretary also reiterated UK and wider international support for Ukraine and desire to de-escalate this conflict."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted the international community was unlikely to believe Mr Shoigu's claims, and implied that Moscow was setting the stage for deploying a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil.
"If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means only one thing: that Russia has already prepared all of it," Mr Zelensky said in a televised address on Sunday evening.
Ukraine's top diplomat, Dmytro Kuleba, said his country neither has dirty bombs nor plans to acquire them.
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces said Mr Shoigu told his counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, that the situation in Ukraine was rapidly worsening and "trending towards uncontrollable escalation".
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Mr Shoigu's call with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin was the second in three days.
A US official familiar with Sunday's call said Russian allegations of a Ukraine provocation came up.
The mention of the dirty bomb threat in Mr Shoigu's calls seemed to indicate the threat of such an attack has risen to an unprecedented level.
"It appears that there is a shared feeling that the tensions have approached the level that could raise the real threat for all," said Fyodor Lukyanov, the Kremlin-connected head of the Council for Foreign and Defence policies, a Moscow-based group of top foreign affairs experts.
Elsewhere, Russian authorities reported they were building defensive positions in occupied areas of Ukraine and border regions of Russia, reflecting fears that Ukrainian forces may attack along new sections of the 620-mile frontline of the war, which enters its ninth month on Monday.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has focused its counter-offensive mostly on the Kherson region.
Their relentless artillery strikes cut the main crossings across the Dnieper River, which bisects the southern region, leaving Russian troops on the west bank short of supplies and vulnerable to encirclement.
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