AFP
Ukraine dismisses Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ claims as ‘lies’
Ukraine on Sunday denounced suggestions by Russia that it was preparing to use a “dirty bomb” as dangerous lies. Western allies also rejected Moscow’s allegations, just hours after Russia made the claims public. In talks with his British, French and Turkish colleagues, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed “concern about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb’,” Moscow said. Russia made no mention of the alleged “dirty bomb” allegation in its statement following Shoigu’s phone call with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. “When Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on social media. “I believe the world needs to react as hard as possible now.” Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced Moscow’s claims as “absurd” and “dangerous”. “Russians often accuse others of what they themselves are up to,” he added. A statement from the UK Ministry of Defense said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace “has refuted these claims and warned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation”. And in Washington, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson rejected Moscow’s “transparently false” claim. “The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation,” she added. – ‘Peace strikes’ – Russia also announced on Sunday that it had destroyed a depot in central Ukraine where more than 100,000 tons of jet fuel was stored. Kiev’s energy operator, meanwhile, said planned power cuts had been introduced in the Ukrainian capital as a result of Russia’s repeated attacks on the country’s electricity grid. The power outages began at 11:13 a.m. (0813 GMT) with consumers in Kiev being divided into three groups who were “disconnected for a period of time,” energy company DTEK said. DTEK repeated the call to residents to use electricity “sparingly” and to companies to limit their use of outdoor lighting. More than a million Ukrainian households have lost electricity after recent Russian strikes, according to the Ukrainian presidency, which destroyed at least a third of the country’s power plants before winter. Zelensky condemned the “despicable strikes” in comments late Saturday after Russian attacks caused power cuts across the country. – ‘Save your powers’ – In the southern Ukrainian town of Kryvyi Rig, Deputy Mayor Sergiy Miliutin faced emergencies and power cuts from his underground bunker, which was used as the venue for a children’s martial arts competition. “I have reached a point where I just survive on my ride. You have to stay sober and save your strength. Nobody knows how long this will all last,” he told AFP. The intensification of Russian attacks on Ukraine, particularly energy facilities, came after the bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia was partially destroyed by an explosion earlier this month. It was another major setback for Moscow’s troops, who were fighting to stem a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south and east of the country. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday it is up to Ukrainians to decide when “peace is possible”, in remarks made in Rome at the start of a peace summit. Ukraine reported three deaths in a nighttime Russian artillery strike in the Toretsk area, a governor of the eastern region of Donetsk said. Within Russia, two lines of defense have been built in the Kursk border region to withstand any possible attack, a local governor said on Sunday. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the bordering Russian border region of Belgorod, said on Saturday that construction of defensive structures had begun. Gladkov said two civilians were killed in strikes on Saturday and 15,000 were without electricity. – Evacuations in Kherson – Meanwhile, Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency said it had detained two officials from Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich on suspicion of collaborating with Russia. The SBU said the management of the company’s factory in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhya region — partly controlled by Russian forces — had colluded with the Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec. The suspects had supplied Russia with Ukrainian aircraft engines used to make and repair attack helicopters, the SBU said. In the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, which Russia claims to have annexed, pro-Moscow officials on Saturday urged residents to leave “immediately” amid a “tense situation” at the front. Kherson, the region’s main city, fell first to Moscow’s forces and its recapture would be a major prize in Ukraine’s counter-offensive. A Moscow-installed official in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, told Russia’s Interfax news agency on Saturday that about 25,000 people had left the city of Kherson on the left bank of the Dnipro River. Ukraine has denounced the removal of residents from Kherson, describing them as “deportations”. bur-imm/raz/yy/lcm
