Western Officials Warn Russia Could Use a Dirty Bomb as a Pretext
New York TimesOct 25, 2022
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated on Thursday that no signs of undeclared nuclear activity have been found at three Ukrainian sites inspected at the request of Kyiv. The inspections came following accusations — without evidence — from Moscow that Ukraine plans on using a "dirty bomb" — a conventional bomb laced with radioactive material. Samples taken from the sites have been sent for further analysis.
This comes as the UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to reject a call from Russia to launch an official probe into allegations that Ukraine and the US are carrying out "military biological" activities in violation of international conventions. Only China voted in favor of the probe alongside Russia. The US, UK and France voted against, while all 10 non-permanent members of the council abstained.
Russia's allegations of a "dirty bomb" are transparently false. The claims are a ploy being utilized by the Kremlin to justify a drastic escalation of the war.
Russia has collected evidence to back up its claims that Ukraine is plotting a dirty bomb, which it is prepared to provide to Western countries. These allegations must be taken seriously.
There is a 3% chance that Russia will be removed from the UN Security Council by 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.