Moscow has largely cut off regular communications with military chiefs in Western countries. However, last week, the kremlin autocrat ordered his defense minister to dial up several world counterparts including the US, UK, France, Turkey and India. The purpose of the calls was to warn about Ukraine’s intent to use dirty bombs on its own territory. We wonder if the defense minister made these completely implausible claims with a straight face or could he possibly believe kremlin propaganda that Ukraine is losing and desperate?
Dirty bomb is a good metaphor for russia – crude, destructive and highly unpredictable
Ukraine is winning across the 2500 kilometer front line and has absolutely no reason to use a dirty bomb. The local dispersal of radiation would have little tactical value and would leave Ukraine’s own soon-to-be-liberated lands radioactive. Just in case, the International Atomic Energy Agency has agreed to inspect two Ukrainian facilities where radioactive material suitable for a dirty bomb might be extracted. On the same mission IAEA will make monitoring visits to Chernobyl and the South Ukraine nuclear power plant in Mykolaiv.
Video: Ukraine was the world’s 3rd largest nuclear power until 1994 when it gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia by signing with them the so-called Budapest Memorandum. (UNITED24)
ruzzia is lying – badly
enemy ministry of foreign affairs gave photo evidence of Ukraine’s preparations for a dirty bomb. Only problem, the pictures are old and from russian and Slovenian websites
Western authorities immediately called the claims “transparently false allegations” as a pretext to set up false-flag operations and escalate the war. Undaunted by lies, the silly and mendacious enemy foreign ministry tweeted photographic evidence that Ukraine is preparing a dirty bomb. A reverse image search reveals that the some of the photos that the kremlin claimed were taken in Kharkiv were, in fact, found on the enemy’s state atomic energy agency’s website.
Another photo of “radioactive material secretly photographed in Ukraine’s satanist-nazi dirty bomb making shop” was taken in Slovenia over a decade ago. The Slovenian government confirmed that the photo showed smoke detectors taken by its state atomic energy agency.
What is a dirty bomb?
A dirty bomb is considered a weapon of mass destruction, constructed by the attachment of crude radioactive material to a bundle of conventional explosive like TNT and dynomite. The explosion spreads the radioactive powder or pellets into the surrounding area making it dangerous for life and denying humans safe access to a small territory. Although a dirty bomb has never been deployed by terrorists or terrorist nations, they are theoretically small enough to fit into a backpack and would weight less than 10 kilograms.
The blast is the most physically dangerous component of a dirty bomb. The radioactive materials would probably not create enough radiation exposure to cause immediate serious illness, except to those people who are very close to the blast site. However, radioactive dust and smoke spread farther away could be dangerous to health if inhaled.
Economically, a dirty bomb would create a local disaster wherein contaminated land and structures would have to be removed to deep landfills, causing severe economic disruption to a local area. The full extent of spread would depend on atmospheric conditions including winds and temperature that both affect the height of the plume and direction of dispersal.
The challenge of making dirty bombs is the main reason they haven’t yet been used by terrorists. First, a sufficient quantity of suitable radioactive material is hard to obtain as the world strives to protect potential sources. The bomb maker has to then work with radioactive material that would arrive shielded. Shielding would protect those who handle the material but would also limit its spread during detonation.
Where might moscow deploy a dirty bomb?
Retreating enemy forces might use dirty bombs at river crossing to slow Ukrainian pursuit.
The most dynamic combat zone is in Kherson Oblast where enemy forces are implementing a response to an expected Ukrainian counter offensive. The counteroffensive, which has been teased since August, caused moscow to redeploy thousands of troops to southern Ukraine.
As moscow continues the deportation of civilians from north of the Dnipro river and digs in around Kherson city, analysts can imagine a scenario in which enemy forces are routed and forced to flee to the south. In that case, it could make tactical sense to spread radiation on the north side of the two key bridges over the Dnipro River, temporarily denying the Ukrainian military access to the crossings.
There is credible evidence that the enemy has prepared the Kakhovka hydropower dam for destruction. However, the Institute for the Study of War suggests a partial destruction that would leave the bridge temporarily impassable but not destroy the dam. Destroying it would be an act of desperation that would lead to cataclysmic flooding mainly on the south side of the lower Dnipro.
Kakhovka Hydroelectric Reservoir
