Russia not preparing to deploy or use nuclear weapons, says US
Washington/Vienna/Moscow/Kyiv: Dismissing the Russian claim of Ukraine’s possible use of the “dirty nuclear bomb” in its own territory as a “transparently false allegation”, the United States of America today (IST) described it as Moscow’s attempt to establish a “deceitful pretext for escalation”.
The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price though clarified that neither it had indications that Russia was preparing to deploy or use nuclear weapons, nor it had seen any reason for it to change its nuclear posture. He though added: “Of course, we’ve heard worrisome rhetoric, troubling rhetoric from President [Vladimir] Putin, from other senior Russian officials that pre-date these most recent statements. It’s why we’re watching very closely and why we will adjust our posture if and when we need to.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov though claimed in Moscow that his Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu had conveyed the detailed data, “complete with the names of research institutes that may be involved in this”, during his telephone conversations with his counterparts from the US, France, the United Kingdom, and Türkiye. He told journalists that as for “dirty nuclear bombs, we will certainly get to the bottom of this. It is in our vital interest to prevent such a terrible provocation. What our Western partners say in public in their reckless support for Mr [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and his regime, does not necessarily mean that they will treat the information we provided irresponsibly in their internal discussions”.
Acknowledging the statements made by Russia, the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be despatching its safeguards inspectors to two nuclear locations in Ukraine after it received a request to this effect from Kyiv. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba had invited the IAEA to “urgently send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine which Russia deceitfully claims to be developing a dirty bomb.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in Vienna that both locations were under IAEA safeguards and were visited regularly by IAEA inspectors.
“The IAEA inspected one of these locations one month ago and all our findings were consistent with Ukraine’s safeguards declarations,” Grossi said and added: “No undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there.”
Lavrov asserted: “We know which institutions and research centres in Ukraine have the technology to produce a “dirty bomb.” We double-checked this information through the appropriate channels. This is not idle suspicion. We have serious grounds to believe that such things may be planned. Mr Shoigu agreed with several of his counterparts to hold additional consultations on this issue at the professional level”. He also hit out at the Western media response and said it was no surprise “because it is entirely in keeping with the West’s reckless support for its lackey Voladymyr Zelenskyy. The West has issued him an indulgence to commit any Russophobic action, and not only statements but also bombing civilian facilities, killing civilians and much more”.
Washington stated that it was concerned by “this type of patently false disinformation” emanating from the Kremlin. “We know the Kremlin’s track record when it comes to these types of claims. That’s what – of course, what is the predicate, what ultimately undergirds our concern,” Price said, and made it clear that the US was “very clear” with the Russians and the world about the severe consequences that would result from nuclear use.
He also quoted the European allies of the USA that the world would “see through any Russian attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation”.
On October 23, the foreign ministers of the USA, France, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement where they mentioned that their defence ministers spoke to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu at his request and made clear to the latter that they all “reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory”.
Besides, the US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today and reaffirmed enduring US support for Ukraine in the face of “continued Russian aggression, atrocities, and rhetoric surrounding so-called “dirty bombs” in Ukraine”. Blinken noted the USA’s commitment to work with Allies and partners to continue meeting Ukraine’s security assistance needs on the battlefield. He had also called up Kuleba on October 23, to reaffirm the United States’ “steadfast support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity” and to express that the United States rejects Russian Defense Minister Shoygu’s “transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory and that the world would see through any attempt by Russia to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation”.
Earlier on October 21, Blinken had referred to 143 countries voting at the United Nations to condemn Russia’s “sham referenda” and reject any attempt to annex Ukrainian territory. “President Putin’s declaration of martial law in parts of Ukraine that Russia purports to annex is just his latest attempt to dress up crimes in the language of law,” he had said at a joint press availability with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Washington. Colonna on her part accused the Kremlin of “blackmailing” the world on energy, and food.
With regard to French President Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron’s statement of earlier this month that France would not use nuclear weapons in retaliation for a potential Russian nuclear strike on Ukraine, Colonna explained that when one talks about nuclear weapons, one should talk with genuine measurement, if not prudence. “So once again I would like to say that we’re calling upon Russia to act as a responsible power. It is a nuclear power and, accordingly, it has some specific responsibility: nuclear weapons of deterrence. And I think once we recall that nuclear weapons are weapons of deterrence, it says it all. As to the French doctrine recalled by the president of France, that is – this is the one.”
