Ben Wallace denies Russia's 'dirty bomb' theories of false flag attack
Ben Wallace denies Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ theories: Defence Secretary hits back at Kremlin’s claim that Ukraine is planning a false flag attack in rare call with Russian counterpart – as Kyiv hits out at ‘absurd Russian lies’
- Ben Wallace denied Russian allegations that Ukraine would plant a ‘dirty bomb’
- The claims were made in a call with Russia’s defence secretary Sergei Shoigu
- Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba said the claims were ‘as absurd as they are dangerous’
- President Zelensky asserted that the allegations were unlikely to be believed
- A ‘dirty bomb’ is a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has strongly denied the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine is planning to detonate a ‘dirty bomb’, as his Russian counterpart warned of an ‘uncontrollable escalation’.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed the claims as ‘Russian lies’ which are ‘as absurd as they are dangerous’.
In a rare phone call with Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Mr Wallace denied that the West was conspiring with Kyiv to ‘facilitate’ a planned escalation of the conflict.
Mr Shoigu claimed that Ukraine was planning to use a dirty bomb – a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste – and blame it on Russia, but provided no evidence to support the allegations.
President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that the international community was unlikely to believe the claims.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has strongly denied the Kremlin’s allegations that Ukraine is planning to detonate a ‘dirty bomb’, as Russian officials warned of an ‘uncontrollable escalation’
In a rare phone call with Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (pictured), Mr Wallace denied that the West was conspiring with Kyiv to ‘facilitate’ a planned escalation of the conflict
Mr Wallace cautioned Moscow’s defence chief against using such allegations as a ‘pretext for greater escalation’.
The call – which was held at Russia’s request – came as Mr Shoigu suggested Kyiv was planning a false flag attack in conversations with French, Turkish and US officials.
Mr Kuleba said: ‘Firstly, we neither have any “dirty bombs” nor plan to acquire any. Secondly, Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves.’
Mr Zelensky also implied that Moscow was setting the stage for deploying a radioactive device on Ukrainian soil.
Posting on social media, he said: ‘If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing – Russia has already prepared all this. I believe that now the world should react as harshly as possible.’
The mention of the threat has raised fears that the conflict could escalate further. In his call to French counterpart Sebastian Lecornu, Shoigu claimed the situation in Ukraine was rapidly deteriorating and ‘trending towards uncontrollable escalation’.
In a statement, the UK Ministry of Defence said: ‘Minister Shoigu alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
‘[Mr Wallace] refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba (pictured) dismissed the claims as ‘Russian lies’ which are ‘as absurd as they are dangerous’
President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that the international community was unlikely to believe the claims
‘The Defence Secretary also reiterated UK and wider international support for Ukraine and desire to de-escalate this conflict.’
It came as a Russian warplane crashed into a Siberian house and burst into flames for the second time in less than a week.
The two pilots of the Su-30 fighter jet, which Russia said was on a training flight, were killed when the plane plummeted into the city of Irkutsk yesterday.
No civilians are believed to have been killed.
In a strikingly similar incident last Monday, an Su-34 bomber exploded near an apartment building in the Russian city of Yeysk, killing 15 people.
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