Russian forces getting ready to work in a radioactive environment, says Moscow officials

• Russia says it has trained its troops to work in radioactive environments.
• Moscow has accused Ukraine of planning to detonate a “dirty bomb,” which Kyiv denies.
• The goal of such an attack would be to blame radioactive contamination on Russia by saying that it used a low-grade nuclear weapon.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of planning to detonate a “dirty bomb,” which Kyiv has strongly denied. On Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it had trained its troops to work in radioactive environments.

After weeks of rising international tension caused by President Vladimir Putin’s threats to defend Russia’s “territorial integrity” with nuclear weapons, it was the first concrete sign from Moscow of a change in the readiness of its forces.

Sunday, Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, told defence ministers from other countries that Moscow thought Ukraine was getting ready to set off such a bomb, which would use regular explosives to spread radioactive material over a large area.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who is in charge of protecting Russia from nuclear, biological, and chemical attacks, told a press conference on Monday that the goal of such an attack would be to blame radioactive contamination on Russia by saying that it used a low-grade nuclear weapon.

He said that Ukraine tried to make Russia look like a “nuclear terrorist.” “The goal of the provocation would be to say that Russia used a weapon of mass destruction in the Ukrainian military theatre. This would be done to start a strong anti-Russian campaign around the world, with the goal of making people not trust Moscow.”

Kirillov came to this conclusion: “Work has been set up by the ministry of defence to counter any possible provocations from the Ukrainian side. Forces and resources have been put in place so that tasks can be done even if they are contaminated with radioactivity.”

He said that Ukraine tried to make Russia look like a “nuclear terrorist.” “The goal of the provocation would be to say that Russia used a weapon of mass destruction in the Ukrainian military theatre. This would be done to start a strong anti-Russian campaign around the world, with the goal of making people not trust Moscow.”

Kirillov came to this conclusion: “Work has been set up by the ministry of defence to counter any possible provocations from the Ukrainian side. Forces and resources have been put in place so that tasks can be done even if they are contaminated with radioactivity.”

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