Disinfo: Zelenskyy may use a dirty bomb if the US asks him to

Summary

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may use a dirty bomb if the US asks him to do so, even if this destroys his country. It can’t be ruled out that Zelenskyy, a US puppet who does what Washington requests from him even if this means the destruction of Ukraine, uses a dirty bomb. He doesn’t care about anything, he is a really despicable character.

Disproof

This is a mix of several recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, in this case, part of a wider campaign about Ukraine’s alleged preparations for a dirty bomb. This manipulative story serves a double purpose: first, denigrating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, by framing him as a US puppet, in line with long-term narratives about Ukraine’s lack of sovereignty. At the same time, it aims to promote unsubstantiated allegations of Ukrainian plans to use a dirty bomb. Repeating previous baseless allegations as established facts while introducing minor variations is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.

On October 23, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu phoned the defence ministers of four NATO countries: France, Turkey, Great Britain and the US. Shoigu said that Ukraine was allegedly preparing a "provocation" with the explosion of a "dirty bomb" on its territory. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not provide any evidence of this, and there is nothing to validate the Russian claim. Pictures presented by the Russian Foreign Ministry to illustrate these allegations were actually from 2010 and originally posted by the Slovenian Radioactive Waste Agency, and therefore totally unrelated to the current situation.

Ukraine has been a nuclear-free country since 1994 when the Budapest memorandum was signed. In 1998, Ukraine signed an Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and in 2006 a Protocol Additional to the Agreement which provides for strict control not only over the nuclear material present on the territory of the country, but for any nuclear research. Ukraine asked the IAEA to "immediately send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine, which the Russian Federation falsely describes as sites for the development of a 'dirty bomb'." IAEA inspectors found nothing suspicious in the Ukrainian facilities.

Western leaders reject Russia's 'dirty bomb' claim. EU High Representative Josep Borrell dismissed the allegations as false. In addition, diplomats from France, Britain and the United States called Russia’s allegation a pretext that Moscow has concocted for escalating the war.

See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Ukraine is going to use a dirty bomb to accuse Russia of using tactical nuclear weapons, that Kyiv is developing this bomb under US and NATO supervision, that UK is actively supporting Ukraine’s dirty bomb plan, or that Ukraine’s dirty bomb provocation will take place in November.

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sputniknews.lat (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 316
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 07/11/2022
  • Article language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, US
  • Keywords: Volodymyr Zelensky, Invasion of Ukraine, Nuclear issues, Sovereignty
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Disinfo: Ukraine is the world's main hot bed of neo-Nazism

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a draft Russian resolution on “combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance."

The United States and Ukraine, the world's main hotbed of neo-Nazism, as has been the case for years, voted against. So did 51 other countries (including Italy and Washington's other European vassals), 15 abstained, and 106 states supported the Russian draft resolution expected to reach the General Assembly plenary in December.

The political significance of the opposition is clear: the US and NATO countries are boycotting the resolution that, albeit not openly, calls out Ukraine, where neo-Nazi battalions like Azov are an integral part of the proxy war waged by NATO and the US against Russia.

Nov 06, 2022
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine is a Nazi state, supported by the US, in the context of Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.

The disinformation claim of "Nazi Ukraine" has been used as a pretext for Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

Disinfo: Ukraine will inevitably end up being shared among its neighbours

Poland plans to seize part of the territory of western Ukraine. According to the Polish authorities, this land is the historical centre of Poland. If such a scenario is possible, how will it be implemented, is it by force or will Ukraine simply hand over the land?

Ukraine’s existence will inevitably end with it being shared among its neighbours. Russia would like to resolve this matter peacefully, so that the Poles simply take the three regions of Galicia, and that they persuade the Hungarians to take beyond the Carpathians, and the Romanians to take Bukovina. That will be the end of it.

Nov 05, 2022
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives claiming that Ukraine has other countries’ territories which should be ceded to their rightful owners. This is a cynical attempt to indirectly draw other countries into Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

This claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.

Disinfo: Moldovan export fundamentally dependent on Russia

The situation in Moldova is radically different from that in Romania and Ukraine. Exports are fundamentally dependent on Russia.

Nov 05, 2022
Disproof

Recurring the pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Moldova will not survive without a good relationship with Russia. The argument given is that Moldova exports a large part of its production to Russia and the loss of markets would be catastrophic for the economy.

In fact, this statement no longer corresponds to the truth. Moldova's exports to the Russian market have been constantly decreasing over the last 5 years, as shown by data from the Ministry of Economy of Moldova. Currently, of the total exported goods, Moldova sent to European countries 61.6% of the volume, while to Russia only 5.1%.