Russia is now taking its claim that Kyiv is preparing to use a dirty bomb in Ukraine as an act of provocation to some of Moscow’s closest partners in India and China, in an apparent attempt to shore up support. But the presentation has fallen flat.
Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, made the case to India’s defense minister, Rajnath Singh, in recent hours during a phone call, according to India’s defense ministry. Shoigu expressed concerns that Ukraine may be preparing to use a dirty bomb, a combination of conventional explosives and radioactive material, claiming that it’s intended to provoke Russia.
But Singh wasn’t having any of it. Singh told Shoigu “the nuclear option should not be resorted to” in the war, according to a readout from India’s defense ministry. “The prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity.”
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Singh “reiterated India’s position on the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy for an early resolution of the conflict.”
India’s warning about the dirty bomb claims echoed western allies’ rejection of Russia’s allegations, which Shoigu began shopping around to leaders over the weekend without providing any evidence. The United States, U.K., and France issued a rare joint statement following Shoigu’s campaign, labeling his claims as “transparently false allegations.”
The dirty bomb claim has caused alarm throughout the globe, raising concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be interested in using the allegation as a way to claim justification for further escalation in the war in Ukraine.
India’s apparent attempt to convince Russia that cooler heads should prevail is the latest sign that some of Putin’s support is drying up. The pushback from India, which has typically been one of Russia’s closer partners on the world stage and is a top recipient of Russian arms, may be a signal that India isn’t pleased with the way Russia is carrying out the war in Ukraine and may be trying to distance itself from the conquest. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rebuked Putin publicly just last month, telling him that now is not the time for war. The resistance comes as two of Putin’s closest war hawks in Russia are increasingly pushing back on his war plans, too.
Shoigu also attempted to make his case to China Wednesday, speaking over video teleconference with China’s Minister of National Defense, Wei Fenghe, according to TASS. China has not responded to the call yet, according to Reuters, but Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously been perturbed by Russia’s approach to the war in Ukraine, according to a CIA analysis, and has recently informed Putin of “concerns” about the war.
Putin has only seemed to double down on his claims, however.
“We know about the plans to use the so-called dirty bomb for provocations,” Putin said Wednesday, according to the AP.
Ukraine’s government has accused Russia of preparing dirty bombs itself, and has requested that authorities from the International Atomic Energy Agency investigate nuclear facilities to check that radioactive material hasn’t been dedicated for a dirty bomb. The IAEA has agreed to conduct such “verification activities.”
Ukrainian officials and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have noted that if Russia is accusing someone else of something, they very well may be preparing to do it themselves.
“NATO allies reject this transparently false allegation,” Stoltenberg said Monday. “Russia often accuses others of what they intend to do themselves. We have seen this pattern before from Syria to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested Russia is already likely working behind the scenes on a dirty bomb.
“If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this,” Zelensky said in a nightly address this week.
The State Department warned, too, that Russia might be plotting.
“The Russians have accused the Ukrainians, the Russians have accused other countries, of what it itself was planning. That is our concern,” spokesperson Ned Price said Monday.
President Joe Biden warned earlier this week that it would be “an incredibly serious mistake” for Russia to use a tactical nuclear weapon.
Biden clarified that it’s not clear if Russia is preparing to use a dirty bomb as part of a false flag operation.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has put its forces in a “state of readiness for action” if a situation of radioactive contamination arises, the Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, claimed Monday, according to TASS.
The flurry of concern over Russia’s dirty bomb allegations and lobbying campaign comes just as Russia is conducting annual drills on launching ballistic and cruise missiles. The tests are intended to practice a “massive nuclear strike” in retaliation for a nuclear attack on Russia.
There is no evidence that Putin is preparing an attack, though, and the United States hasn’t seen anything from Russia that would cause the Biden administration to change the strategic forces posture, according to the Department of Defense.
“We have not seen at this time… any indication that Russia has made a decision or intends to employ nuclear weapons or a dirty bomb,” Pentagon Press Secretary Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters in a briefing Tuesday. “But again, it’s something that we'll continue to watch closely.”
Last month, when the IAEA visited nuclear facilities in Ukraine, “no undeclared nuclear activities or material were found,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
The Biden Administration has warned that there will be repercussions for Russia if it deploys a dirty bomb or another nuclear weapon.
“There would be consequences for Russia, whether it uses a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb,” Ryder said.
