Russia used photos from Slovenia, 2010 to illustrate their "dirty bomb" claims

Russian Ministry of Defense used photos of radioactive waste from Slovenia to illustrate their claims about Ukraine working on a "dirty bomb". The photos were made back in 2010, Babel reports.

The according statements were made by the Russian Ministry of Defense on October 24.

With these photos, the Russians illustrated the "dirty bomb" making process and explained what radioactive elements it might contain. Namely, these can be Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239.

"As the charge detonates, the container is destroyed and the radioactive substance is dispersed by a shock wave, causing radioactive contamination across a large area, and can also lead to radiation sickness," the Russian Ministry of Defense threatened.

According to the media, this photo was later shared by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well. However, on October 26, the Slovenian government pointed this out. They stressed that Slovenian radioactive waste is kept in safe conditions and is not being used for any "dirty bombs".

Photo, used by the Russian Foreign Ministry in its Twitter post (https://t.co/C9ty3hU3Ef) is an ARAO photo from 2010. pic.twitter.com/1f1DynuvFR

— Slovenian Government (@govSlovenia) October 25, 2022

A "dirty bomb" is a type of mass destruction weapon which consists of a container filled with radioactive isotopes and an explosive charge. It is basically a projectile or bomb with nuclear waste. When such a bomb detonates, its radioactive content is scattered by a shock wave over large areas, but the radius of damage depends on the amount of content and the source material's properties.

As IMI reported, representative of the press service of the Chief Directorate of Intelligence at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Andriy Yusov, called the Kremlin's claims about Ukraine's intent to use a "dirty bomb" a psyop.

On October 23, Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu was on the phone with the Ministers of Defense of France, Turkey, and Great Britain, during which he "expressed his concern over Ukraine possibly using a 'dirty bomb.'"

The foreign ministers of the United States, France, and Great Britain made a joint statement condemning Russia's attempts to falsely accuse Ukraine of being ready to use a "dirty bomb" on its own territory and reaffirming their steadfast support for Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba officially proposed the IAEA sends experts to Ukrainian nuclear facilities in order to refute the Russian Federation's "dirty bomb" lies.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia's statements about Ukraine allegedly using a "dirty bomb" indicate that Russia has already prepared everything to use it themselves, so the world should respond to as harshly as possible.

US President Joe Biden said that Vladimir Putin would make a very serious mistake if he decided to deploy and use nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine.