Moscow has been accusing Kiev of developing a “dirty” or nuclear-contaminated bomb for several days. Ukraine would use the bomb on its own territory and then blame Russia for it, the allegations sound. Western governments have labeled the allegations as implausible and as a pretext for further escalation of the war. Kiev also denies the allegations.
On Twitter, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a photo with the caption “Development of the dirty bomb.” The image shows plastic bags marked with the radioactivity warning symbol.
However, nuclear experts from the Slovenian government were the first to recognize the photo. They emphasized that it was an old photo from 2010 and that the images also clearly show smoke detectors. “Radioactive waste in Slovenia is safely stored and monitored. It will not be used to build ‘dirty bombs’,” the government quoted as saying Sandi Viršek, the head of the radioactive waste disposal agency.
An adviser in the cabinet of Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Gobb said Moscow used the photo “for wrong purposes and without the knowledge of Slovenian authorities”.