Energoatom, the Ukrainian organization that runs the country’s nuclear power plants, raised the alarm on Tuesday over Russian accusations that Ukraine plans to deploy a “dirty bomb” in the war. According to the organization, Russia is preparing a “terrorist act”.
Energoatom reports in a press statement that the Russians are carrying out secret construction activities at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, occupied by Russia since the start of the war. The Russian occupiers are not allowing the Ukrainian staff at the plant to monitor the activities. In addition, observers from the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are also not allowed there.
In the press statement, Energoatom stated, “it believes that Russia is preparing a terrorist act with the nuclear material and radioactive waste stored at the plant”. According to the organization, 174 containers are stored in the plant’s storage facility, with 24 spent fuel rods in each container. “Destruction of these containers as a result of an explosion will contaminate an area of hundreds of square kilometres,” Energoatom calls on the IAEA to intervene.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu was accused in telephone conversations with his British, French, Turkish and American colleagues over the weekend. They dismissed the accusation as “obviously false”. Kyiv dismissed the Russian accusation as an attempt to blame Ukraine for the Russians detonating a dirty bomb.
The White House stressed on Monday that the Russian allegations are false. “It’s just not true; we know it’s a lie,” spokesman John Kirby said. “In the past, the Russians have often blamed others for things they planned themselves.”
A dirty bomb does not have the explosive power of an atomic bomb, but it does have the ability to contaminate large areas radioactively.
