The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday that it had not detected any sign of “undeclared nuclear activities” in Ukraine at this stage of its investigation, after having inspected three locations at the request of Kyiv.
Russia has continued with its allegations, stating that Ukraine had erased evidence of preparations of a “dirty bomb.”
“Our technical and scientific evaluation of the results we have so far did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at these three locations,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Thursday. Officials will soon communicate the results of environmental sampling taken at the sites.
Inspections took place at Kyiv’s Nuclear Research Institute, a mining plant in Jovti Vody, and at a plant in Dnipro, following a request from Ukrainian authorities. Investigators said that they were able to access the sites “without hindrance.”
Baseless accusations
A dirty bomb is a conventional explosive surrounded by radioactive, biological, or chemical materials, which are scattered across a large area upon explosion. The goal of these “dirty” weapons is to prevent civilians from being able to return to affected areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the IAEA’s early results were “clear and irrefutable proof” that Ukraine was not, and had not, been planning such an attack.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin alleges that Ukraine was preparing for a “false flag” attack against its own people, detonating a low-yield radioactive device within its own territory. No evidence has supported the Kremlin’s claims, leading Western leaders to suspect that Russia may be preparing its own false flag attack as a pretext for further escalation.
