Ukraine Working on ‘Dirty Bomb’ Plot – Moscow

By Staff, Agencies

Russia has accused Ukraine of covertly smuggling radioactive materials through Poland and Romania to assemble a potential “dirty bomb” for a false-flag attack, a charge Kiev and its Western allies have previously dismissed as disinformation.

At a Thursday briefing, Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, claimed Ukraine was engaging in “nuclear blackmail” that risks severe environmental and security consequences for Europe.

He alleged that spent radioactive fuel was moved without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in violation of international nuclear protocols.

Rtishchev said the operation was overseen by Andrey Yermak, a former top aide to President Vladimir Zelensky who resigned last month amid a corruption scandal.

He argued that the smuggled material could be used to build a dirty bomb—an explosive device designed to disperse radioactive contamination rather than trigger a nuclear blast.

Russia also claimed to have obtained Ukrainian security-service training materials simulating theft of radioactive sources, bomb assembly, and detonation in populated areas.

The general accused Western governments of enabling dangerous violations of nuclear regulations, warning that the erosion of Ukrainian state institutions could push “a number of European states to the brink of an environmental catastrophe.”

Moscow has repeatedly warned that Ukraine might stage a dirty-bomb attack to undermine ongoing US-mediated peace talks—a scenario Russian officials say carries extreme risks and could trigger a harsh response from Moscow.