LONDON: In Russia’s latest advocacy campaign over its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow focused on accusations that Kyiv maybe consider using a so-called “dirty bomb” – a conventional explosive device containing toxic nuclear material.
Kyiv and its Western allies say there is no truth to this accusation and that the idea that Ukraine is poisoning its own territory is patently absurd. They say Moscow could be making the allegation to justify its own escalation.
Here is an overview of dirty bombs and how they could be used in Ukraine, either as a real threat or as a basis for propaganda:
HOW MUCH DAMAGE CAN THEY DO?
Dirty Bombs do not create a city-leveling atomic explosion, but are designed to spread toxic waste. Security experts have worried about them primarily as a form of terrorist weapon to be used on cities to wreak havoc among civilians, rather than a tactical device to be used by warring parties in conflict.
Experts say the immediate health impact would likely be limited, as most people in an affected area could escape before experiencing lethal doses of radiation. But the economic damage could be enormous if urban areas had to be evacuated or even entire towns abandoned.
During testimony before the United States Senate during the Obama administration, physicist Henry Kelly, then president of the Federation of Scientists, described a wide range of what-if scenarios, depending on the amount and type of nuclear materials used and of their extent.
A bomb using radioactive cesium from a misplaced or stolen medical device could require the evacuation of an area several blocks away, making it dangerous for decades.
A piece of radioactive cobalt from a food irradiation plant could, if destroyed in a bomb in New York, contaminate a 380 square mile (1,000 km2) area and potentially render Manhattan Island uninhabitable , said Kelly.
WHAT IS RUSSIA ALLEVIATING?
Moscow sent a letter detailing its allegations on Kyiv to the United Nations on Monday evening, and diplomats said Russia planned to raise the issue in a closed meeting with the Security Council on Tuesday.
The head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, told a news conference that Ukraine’s goal for such an attack would be to blame Russia.
“The purpose of the provocation would be to accuse Russia of using a weapon of mass destruction in the Ukrainian military theater and by this means to launch a powerful anti-Russian campaign in the world, aimed at undermining confidence in Moscow.”
WHAT IS THE RESPONSE FROM UKRAINE AND THE WEST?
Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow’s allegation that Ukraine intentionally makes part of its own territory uninhabitable is absurd, especially at a time when Ukrainian forces are reclaiming territory from the battlefield.
In a joint statement, the United States, Britain and France called the Russian allegations “obviously false” and warned Moscow against using them as a “pretext” for escalation.
The Kremlin warned the West on Tuesday that it was dangerous to reject Moscow’s position.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Moscow could use the allegations as a cover to plan a similar attack: “If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this.”
Kyiv and its Western allies say there is no truth to this accusation and that the idea that Ukraine is poisoning its own territory is patently absurd. They say Moscow could be making the allegation to justify its own escalation.
Here is an overview of dirty bombs and how they could be used in Ukraine, either as a real threat or as a basis for propaganda:
HOW MUCH DAMAGE CAN THEY DO?
Dirty Bombs do not create a city-leveling atomic explosion, but are designed to spread toxic waste. Security experts have worried about them primarily as a form of terrorist weapon to be used on cities to wreak havoc among civilians, rather than a tactical device to be used by warring parties in conflict.
Experts say the immediate health impact would likely be limited, as most people in an affected area could escape before experiencing lethal doses of radiation. But the economic damage could be enormous if urban areas had to be evacuated or even entire towns abandoned.
During testimony before the United States Senate during the Obama administration, physicist Henry Kelly, then president of the Federation of Scientists, described a wide range of what-if scenarios, depending on the amount and type of nuclear materials used and of their extent.
A bomb using radioactive cesium from a misplaced or stolen medical device could require the evacuation of an area several blocks away, making it dangerous for decades.
A piece of radioactive cobalt from a food irradiation plant could, if destroyed in a bomb in New York, contaminate a 380 square mile (1,000 km2) area and potentially render Manhattan Island uninhabitable , said Kelly.
WHAT IS RUSSIA ALLEVIATING?
Moscow sent a letter detailing its allegations on Kyiv to the United Nations on Monday evening, and diplomats said Russia planned to raise the issue in a closed meeting with the Security Council on Tuesday.
The head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, told a news conference that Ukraine’s goal for such an attack would be to blame Russia.
“The purpose of the provocation would be to accuse Russia of using a weapon of mass destruction in the Ukrainian military theater and by this means to launch a powerful anti-Russian campaign in the world, aimed at undermining confidence in Moscow.”
WHAT IS THE RESPONSE FROM UKRAINE AND THE WEST?
Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow’s allegation that Ukraine intentionally makes part of its own territory uninhabitable is absurd, especially at a time when Ukrainian forces are reclaiming territory from the battlefield.
In a joint statement, the United States, Britain and France called the Russian allegations “obviously false” and warned Moscow against using them as a “pretext” for escalation.
The Kremlin warned the West on Tuesday that it was dangerous to reject Moscow’s position.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Moscow could use the allegations as a cover to plan a similar attack: “If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this.”
