Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Wednesday announced the possibility of Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons against Ukraine amid repeated “warnings” from Russia about the presence of a dirty bomb in Kyiv, Reuters reports.

“My personal opinion is that Putin will not use nuclear weapons,” Reznikov said during a press briefing, answering questions about this topic.

Vladimir Putin warned that, if necessary, he would call on Russia’s nuclear arsenal both during a speech on September 21, when he announced partial mobilization, and during a speech on September 30, when he announced the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories.

But his warnings sparked fresh concern after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu began calling his counterparts in several countries on Sunday to say Ukraine was preparing to detonate a “dirty bomb,” a type of weapon that contains both conventional explosives and radioactive materials. .

Shoigu spoke about this again on Wednesday during talks with the defense ministers of India and China.

How Oleksii Reznikov explains the “dirty bomb” rhetoric of the Russians

In an interview with conservative Fox News on Tuesday night, Reznikov said the Russian defense minister’s warnings were aimed at halting arms shipments and preparing the ground for a possible “false flag” operation by Moscow.

“This is absurd and a complete lie. This is a new stage of the Russian information campaign against the civilized world,” he emphasized. Reznikov also confirmed in an interview on Tuesday that he does not expect Russia to use nuclear weapons now.

His comments came as Russia began training its nuclear deterrent forces on Wednesday, which Vladimir Putin is personally overseeing. On February 27, the head of the Kremlin ordered to bring these forces to “heightened readiness.”

The hypothesis that Moscow’s statements about the presence of a “dirty bomb” that Ukraine is preparing to detonate on its own territory is actually an attempt to dissuade the West from further supporting Kyiv is also supported by the Institute for the Study of War in -rating, published at the beginning of the week.

On Monday, ISW noted that the warnings are “likely intended to intimidate Western powers into reducing or limiting support to Ukraine as Russia faces continued military setbacks and the likely loss of the western part of Kherson by the end of the year.”

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