Russia urges UN reaction to "dirty bomb provocation" of Ukraine

Russia calls on UN chief Antonio Guterres to do everything he can to prevent Ukraine from carrying out its "dirty bomb" provocation, the Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said in a letter seen by TASS.

"We call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to do everything in his power to prevent this heinous crime from happening," the letter reads. "We will regard the use of the `dirty bomb’ by the Kyiv regime as an act of nuclear terrorism," Nebenzya warned.

According to information received by Russia’s Defense Ministry, "this provocation may be carried out with the support of the Western countries" and Russia urges "the Western countries to exert their influence on the regime in Kyiv to abandon its dangerous plans threatening international peace and security," Nebenzya said.

"Amidst the anti-Russian propaganda campaign, we would like to stress that the Russian Federation has not intended, nor intends to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine," he emphasized.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces, said at a briefing on October 24 that the Russian Defence Ministry had all forces and means ready for executing missions amid radioactive contamination.

The ‘dirty bomb’ threat was also mentioned by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on October 24. Russia’s top diplomat said that Moscow would raise the issue of Kyiv’s preparations for using such weapons at the UN.

Earlier, Russia’s defence chief Sergey Shoigu held negotiations with his counterparts from the United States, Great Britain, Turkey and France, warning about the ‘dirty bomb’ threat posed by Ukraine. Washington, London and Paris, however, dismissed Russia’s warnings.