The 'Dirty Bomb' and 'Ukraine's Nuclear Weapons': Fakes Debunked by the IAEA

The “Dirty Bomb”

In October 2022, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu called the defense ministers of France, Britain, the US, and Turkey with the claim that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation with a dirty bomb.”

Response: Ukraine itself invited IAEA inspectors (the International Atomic Energy Agency) to conduct an inspection. Result: no evidence found.

Why Russia did this:

• Laying the groundwork for Russia’s possible use of a tactical nuclear weapon — “Ukraine used radiological weapons first”
• Intimidation — creating panic among the population and the international community
• A classic technique of “mirror accusation” — accusing the opponent of what you plan to do yourself

”Nuclear Weapons”

Kremlin media claimed that Ukraine was working on restoring its nuclear arsenal at Chernobyl.

Facts:

• In 1994, Ukraine voluntarily gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal (1,900 warheads)
• The renunciation was made in exchange for the Budapest Memorandum — guarantees of territorial integrity from Russia, the US, and Great Britain
• Russia violated ALL guarantees — by annexing Crimea (2014) and invading (2022)
• The Chernobyl zone is an exclusion zone, not a nuclear laboratory
• Russia itself occupied Chernobyl in the first days of the invasion, exposing its own soldiers to radiation

Who Actually Threatens with Nuclear Weapons

The irony: the only side that systematically threatens with nuclear weapons is Russia:

• Putin has repeatedly hinted at readiness to use nuclear weapons
• Medvedev regularly threatens a “nuclear strike”
• Russian TV discusses “nuclear strikes on London and Washington” as entertainment
• Russia deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus (2023)

The country that gave up nuclear weapons (Ukraine) is accused of building them — by the country that threatens with nuclear weapons every week (Russia).