Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy hits back at Russian defence minister's 'dirty bomb' claims

As the ruthless war in Eastern Europe continues unabated, war-torn Ukraine has denounced Russian allegations that Kyiv would employ a "dirty bomb". Referring to Russia’s claims, the Ukrainian President on Sunday said, “who is the source of everything dirty that can be imagined in this war.” While addressing his nation during his daily night speech, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that when the Russian Minister of Defense sets up a phone carousel on Sunday and calls foreign ministers with "stories about the so-called ‘dirty’ nuclear bomb, everyone understands everything well". 

Countering the claims, Zelenskyy highlighted Russia’s unjustified aggression in the war. He stressed, “It was Russia who blackmailed with the radiation disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.” He continued by saying that Russian missiles specifically fly over Ukrainian nuclear sites on this path. He also added that Russian soldiers have mined the Kakhovka HPP dam and aggregated the situation and are using their explosion as blackmail. 

The Ukrainian President further noted that Russia is the country that employs phosphorus bombs, outlawed anti-personnel mines, and a wide array of other weapons against civilian infrastructure. 

Sergei Shoigu's claims were rejected by UK and US

President Zelenskyy made these remarks after Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defence Minister made a 'dirty bomb' comment during a telephonic conversation with his British counterpart Ben Wallace. According to a BBC report, Shoigu stated that he was “concerned about possible provocations by Kyiv involving the use of a dirty bomb". 

In a series of phone calls on Sunday, Shoigu also expressed Moscow's concern to the defence ministers of the United States, France, and Turkey. He made these claims without providing any proof. 

Pointing to these allegations, Zelenskyy in his night speech said, “If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this.” He further asserted, “If Russia has prepared another round of raising stakes and another escalating step, it must see now, preemptively and before its any new "dirt" that the world will not swallow that.” 

In the meantime, as for Shoigu's claims that Ukraine was contemplating actions aided by Western nations, including the UK, to exacerbate the situation in Ukraine, Wallace said he denied such claims. He also warned that such claims “should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation", BBC reported.  

Furthermore, the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, made similar remarks to Shoigu on Sunday. Shoigu's assertions were denied by the White House National Security Council as well, The Guardian reported. As per a statement, "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation”.