Russia on Sunday accused western powers of colluding with Ukraine on a “provocation” involving a radioactive “dirty bomb”, which has been strongly rejected by the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegation during calls with his equivalents from the UK, the US, France and Turkey.
Mr Shoigu spoke of “possible Ukrainian provocations involving a ‘dirty bomb’” — an explosive device that spreads radioactive contamination, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
Mr Wallace rejected the charge and warned Moscow not to try to use it as a “pretext”to intensify the conflict.
“Minister Shoigu alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine," the UK Ministry of Defence said.
“The defence secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation.”
Ukraine capital Kyiv hit by kamikaze drones - in pictures
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Firefighters in action after a drone fired on buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A drone approaches for an attack in the Ukraine capital. AFP -
A police officer fires at a drone flying overhead. AFP -
Smoke rises from a building after a drone attack. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman takes cover as an air-raid siren sounds. Reuters -
Debris near the site of a drone attack. AFP -
Police stand guard as smoke rises from buildings. Reuters -
A drone in the sky seconds before it fired on buildings. AP -
Plumes of smoke rise after a Russian drone strike. Reuters
The Russian authorities have repeatedly made allegations that Ukraine could detonate a dirty bomb in a “false flag” attack and blame it on Moscow.
The Ukrainian authorities have accused the Kremlin of planning such an attack.
Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed Mr Shoigu’s claims as an “absolute and quite predictable absurdity from those who believe that they blatantly lie and make people believe in that”.
Ukraine war latest - in pictures
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Smoke rises on the outskirts of the city during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
Workers surround the Monument to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred with sandbags against damage from shelling in Mykolaiv. EPA -
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for talks before a meeting between the Russian president and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. AFP -
People take water from a water pump in Kyiv. EPA -
A woman walks past a damaged building in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Reuters -
A woman outside her home, which was destroyed during battles at the start of the conflict, in Yahidne, Chernihiv. Getty Images -
People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
Firefighters at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A woman walks past the site of a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Reuters -
Rescuer workers at a building destroyed in an attack in Mykolaiv. Reuters -
Parts of a drone lie on a street in Kyiv. Reuters -
A drone flies over the Ukrainian capital during an attack. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen tow a captured Russian armoured vehicle in Rudneve village, Kharkiv. EPA -
A partially destroyed residential building in Saltivka, in Kharkiv. AP -
Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer on a front line near Kupyansk city, Kharkiv. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region. AFP -
An officer from a Ukrainian national police emergency demining team prepares to detonate collected anti-tank mines and explosives near Lyman, in the Donetsk region. AFP -
A boy playing on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Kyiv. AFP -
A young couple hiding underground during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia. AFP -
Ukrainian firefighters looking for survivors after a strike in Zaporizhzhia. AFP -
Workers fix a banner reading 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!' to the State Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. AFP -
Residents try to cross a destroyed bridge in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AFP -
Alyona Kishinskaya helps to clean up a shop as it prepares to reopen in Balakiya, Ukraine, after a six-month Russian occupation. Getty Images -
Alla, 12, has a swinging time in Balakiya, Ukraine, as life goes on despite the war. Getty Images -
Ukrainian flags in the town square in Balakiya. Getty Images -
A destroyed Russian command centre in Izium, Ukraine. Getty Images -
In what may be a final farewell, young Russian recruits - escorted by their wives - walk to a train station in Volgograd before being sent to war in Ukraine. AP -
Russian recruits board the train to Ukraine in Volgograd. AP -
Ukrainian soliders drive a tank at the recently retaken eastern side of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. AFP -
Volunteers pass boxes of food aid on a destroyed bridge over the Oskil River. AFP -
Ukrainian soliders rest on an armoured personnel carrier. AFP -
A sign warns of landmines in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
This crater was left after a missile strike in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AFP
The US also rejected Mr Shoigu’s “transparently false allegations,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
“The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation,” Ms Watson said.
In his televised address on Sunday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow could be setting the stage to use a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil.
“If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means only one thing: that Russia has already prepared all of it,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
The mention of the dirty bomb threat in Mr Shoigu’s calls seemed to indicate the threat of such an attack has risen to an unprecedented level.
The French Ministry of the Armed Forces said Mr Shoigu told French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu that the situation in Ukraine was rapidly worsening and “trending towards uncontrollable escalation".
