Russia claims Ukraine is in the ‘final stage’ of creating a ‘dirty bomb’ as Kyiv’s top general admits Zelensky’s office is worried that Putin plans nuclear strike

• Russia claims Ukraine is developing a ‘dirty bomb’ have been widely dismissed
• But it has raised fears Moscow is planning a ‘false flag’ attack to escalate further
• Russia’s Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov today said Ukraine was in ‘final stages’
• General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said today of the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s nuclear weapons: ‘We are worried’

Russia has claimed Ukraine is in the ‘final stage’ of creating a ‘dirty bomb’, further raising fears that Moscow will carry out a false flag attack.

The claim came as Kyiv’s top general admitted President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office is ‘worried’ about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s nuclear weapons.

Concerns have been growing in recent weeks that Moscow could order its forces to set off a dirty bomb of its own, place the blame on Kyiv, and use it as justification to further escalate the war with a devastating nuclear strike.

Following a series of embarrassing battlefield setbacks, the Russian despot issued a thinly veiled threat late last month that he would be willing to resort to using nuclear weapons. Nuclear sabre rattling has also come from other Russian hardliners.

On Monday, the Kremlin stood by its allegation that Ukraine may be preparing to detonate a so-called dirty bomb, which disperses radioactive material.

‘According to the information we have, two organisations in Ukraine have specific instructions to create a so-called ‘dirty bomb’. This work is in its final stage,’ Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov claimed in a statement on Monday. 

Ukraine, the United States, Britain and France have dismissed Moscow’s claim.

Pictured: Smoke rises from a building after it was attacked by Russian suicide drones in Kyiv, Ukraine on October 17, 2022. Russia has claimed Ukraine is in the ‘final stage’ of creating a ‘dirty bomb’, further raising fears that Moscow will carry out a false flag attack

General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, did not mince his words when assessing the threat posed by the nuclear weapons at Putin’s disposal, saying that he and other Ukrainian officials are ‘worried’ about Putin’s arsenal

General Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, did not mince his words when assessing the threat posed by the nuclear weapons at Putin’s disposal.

‘We are and should be worried,’ he told ABC news in an interview released Monday.

Syrskiy, who won the battle for Kyiv in the spring, and the battle of Kharkiv in September, said that he was confident Ukraine was winning the war which is about the ‘survival of our people’.

‘Of course, I think we are winning. Because first and foremost, we are winning the psychological battle,’ he said.

‘We have success on the battleground, but the war is difficult.’

The blistering Ukrainian counteroffensive, that forced the Russians out of lands they seized in the more industrial north, has now reached the agricultural south.

Kherson, the southern region’s main city, was the first to fall to Moscow’s troops in the invasion’s early days and retaking it would be a major prize for Kyiv.

But as Ukraine continues to add to its victories, Russia is getting more desperate. 

Russia has intensified its strikes on Ukraine, particularly on energy facilities, after the bridge linking the annexed Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia was partially destroyed by an explosion this month. 

Last week, Putin declared martial law in four occupied regions, empowering their Russian-installed administrations to step up mobilisation. 

Compelling civilians to serve in the armed forces of an occupying power is defined as a breach of the Geneva Conventions on conduct in war.

While he is confident Ukraine was winning the war, Syrskiy stressed the importance of pressing on, saying that there is ‘no other option but to win’.

‘We know what we are fighting for,’ he told ABC. ‘There hasn’t been any wars at that scale in Europe, or elsewhere in the world, since the Second World War.

‘And we understand that this war is about the survival of our people and our state and this is why we have no other option but to win,’ Syrskiy added.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with his counterparts to convey ‘concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb’ – a weapon that uses traditional explosives to contaminate an area with radioactive waste

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the claim that Ukraine is developing a dirty bomb in phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey over the weekend.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Shoigu voiced concern about ‘possible Ukrainian provocations involving a “dirty bomb”,’ a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive material.

Such a device doesn’t have the devastating effect of a nuclear explosion, but could expose broad areas to radioactive contamination.

The Russian Defence Ministry and the Kremlin didn’t publicly offer any specific information to back up its claim.

But speaking during Monday’s call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that Shoigu’s warning reflected a real threat.

‘Their distrust of the information that has been provided by the Russian side doesn’t mean that the threat of using such a dirty bomb doesn’t exist,’ Peskov said. 

Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022

Taisiia Kovaliova, 15, stands amongst the rubble of a playground in front of her house hit by a Russian missile in Mykolaiv, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022

Victor walks across the forecourt of his garage which was completely destroyed during Russian strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Balakliia, Ukraine, October 22

‘Such a threat exists, and the defence minister has given the information about it to his interlocutors. It’s up to them whether to trust it or not.’

Western allies said they reject ‘Russia’s transparently false allegations’ and warned they would ‘see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation’ – suggestion Russia could be preparing for a ‘false flag’ attack.

Ukraine’s top diplomat urged the U.N. nuclear watchdog to immediately send an inspection team to the country to counter Moscow’s claim that Kyiv is preparing a ‘provocation’ involving a dirty bomb.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday he made the request in a call with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Kuleba said Grossi agreed to send a team of inspectors, adding that ‘unlike Russia, Ukraine has always been and remains transparent. We have nothing to hide.’

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