Oct 24- Dirty bombs, filthy lies
Official statements, Bellingcat debunking, and distraction tactics
Dirty bombs…filthy lies…
Introducing a new twist to Russia’s propaganda war: on Sunday Russia’s military chief of general staff Gerasimov spoke with Britain’s chief of defence staff Tony Radakin and the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley about accusing Ukraine of preparing for the use of a “dirty bomb”.
President Zelensky responded immediately: "When today the Russian Defense Minister arranges a telephone carousel and calls foreign ministers with stories about the so-called "dirty nuclear bomb," everyone understands everything well."
Russian continued its propaganda campaign today
The Russian Ministry of Defence has started a new propaganda campaign related to nuclear weapons. For several days the Russian MoD called international leaders and has disseminated accusations about a Ukrainian "dirty bomb".
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has told western counterparts that the war in Ukraine is heading for an “uncontrolled escalation” amid evidence that the Kremlin is weighing how to respond to yet another anticipated battlefield defeat around the key southern city of Kherson.
Now Russia insists that "Ukrainian dirty bomb radioactive substances" can cover Poland andspread up to 1,500 km. These images are the same that were used to show radiation flows with the explosion of a nuclear bomb.
In a tweet today, Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s MFA, doubled down on their propaganda efforts stating that they, “have specific information about institutions and scientific institutions in Ukraine that have the technology to build a "dirty nuclear bomb". This is not an empty suspicion. There are good reasons to believe that such things may be planned.”
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, also released a statement saying that the threat of Ukraine using a “dirty bomb” still exists whether NATO countries believe it or not: “Their [the NATO countries’] disbelief of the information that was handed over by the Russian side does not mean that the threat of using a dirty bomb ceases to exist. The threat is clear,” Peskov said.
With all this noise, you know something just isn’t right.
Accusations Quickly and easily debunked by Eliot Higgins at Bellingcat
Eliot Higgins is the founder of Bellingcat and the organisation of OSINT sleuths have debunked accusations coming from Russia as well as other state propaganda networks. Please read the entire thread since his team has provided evidence of the fallacy of the Russian claims.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has accused Russia of only communicating with the world in the language of “blackmail”. Russian claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” are another example of this use of blackmail, Podolyak said on Twitter.
Ariana Gic responding to accusations of ‘dirty bombs’
Shoigu's call to the US, UK, France, and Turkey with the LIE of Ukraine preparing to detonate a 'dirty bomb' is obvious pretext for Russia to do so and then escalate. There's a lot of focus on US, UK & FR rejection of the Ru allegation. But I think this misses the point:
Moscow knows its lie is apparent and not compelling. I mean, Russia's entire war against Ukraine is based on an absolute lie. Russia is not restrained by the perception of its lies as lies.
It's about setting up (however fraudulent) legal context and pretext for its crimes.
Moscow has been cultivating the narrative of Ukraine "secretly developing nuclear weapons" for a LONG time. Russia directly accused Zelensky for having such ambitions back in Feb 2022.
Shoigu's call is the continuation of painting Ukraine as a "rogue" nation that threatens RU.
This comes on the heals of the explosion on the Kerch Bridge, and Russian propaganda calling Ukraine a "terrorist state". We can see a layering of Kremlin lies to create the (false) legal pretext for Russia to "react". RU lies are always huge.
Russia "justifies" its UNLAWFUL aggression against Ukraine w/ LIES. It doesn't matter if most nations don't believe them. They keep beating the same "UA nazi" drum at the UN despite being called out as liars by other nations. RU doesn't even LISTEN to what others in the UNSC say.
So while it's important that countries like the US, UK, and France explicitly state that they do not accept Russia's lie, this isn't the point for Russia - it does not, and will not, discourage them from executing whatever evil criminal plans they have.
The Ukrainian Spirit of Resistance
A survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) after two weeks of heaving Russian shelling reveals that an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians, 86%, believe the country should keep up its armed resistance to Russia’s invasion even if missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities persist, according to a new poll.
The results of the survey showed Russia’s shelling of Ukrainian cities had achieved the opposite of its intended aim “to sow panic, despair and force Ukrainians to surrender”, the deputy director of KIIS Anton Hrushetskyi said. He added:
Yes, the terror continues, people die or are injured, Ukrainian families are forced to spend their evenings in the dark. However, the national pain from losses and destruction does not frighten people. The Ukrainian people maintain strong unity and stability and are ready to continue the struggle to victory.
U.S. Dept of State: Joint Statement on Ukraine- Oct 23, 2022
Released by the Governments of the United States of America, France, and the United Kingdom.
We, the Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, reiterate our steadfast support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression. We remain committed to continue supporting Ukraine’s efforts to defend its territory for as long as it takes.
Earlier today, the defense ministers of each of our countries spoke to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu at his request. Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory. The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation. We further reject any pretext for escalation by Russia.
The Foreign Ministers also discussed their shared determination to continue supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian people with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance in the face of President Putin’s brutal war of aggression.
Non-official hot takes…
Watch for this instead…
Russian propagandists and leadership are inundating the information space with accusations of non-existent ‘dirty bombs’, and they’re doing so because they don’t want you to pay attention to other developments in Ukraine and Russia.
The Russian forces are continuing the “partial mobilisation” in Moscow and are recruiting men in Kherson who have not been deported, and retreating forces are taking away anything that isn’t nailed down.
They forces are still deploying Iranian-made Sharad drones to hit cities in Ukraine, knocking out critical infrastructure and killing Ukrainian citizens. According the latest UK Ministry of Defence intelligence report, the Ukrainian efforts to defeat the Shahed-136 UAVs. Official sources, including Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy, claim that up to 85% of attacks are being intercepted.
Concern is also growing in the national security community that Russia may blow up a large hydroelectric dam at Nova Kakhovka, upstream from Kherson, which holds back 18m cubic metres of water. On Friday, Ukrainian defence intelligence warned that the dam had been mined and that two trucks full of explosives had been placed on top of its 30m-high walls.
Ukrainian forces are also continuing to liberate areas under Russian occupation, and may begin operations to take Kherson in the near future.
In the end, what Moscow wants you to forget is that the Russian forces are continuing their punishment strategy and attacks on Ukraine, and are openly advocating the mass genocide of the Ukrainian people:
The last word…
While the Russian accusation of dirty bombs may indicate a false flag operation is underway, for now, it is meant to distract our attention to greater issues. I’m closing this post with one of the most powerful addresses by President Zelensky to date.
On September 11, in his Telegram post, President Zelensky looked extremely tired, not like this official photo below. He was also defiant and projected strength- the strength of all Ukrainians in the face of such evil.
He addressed Moscow by giving a stark warning, declaring that “history will put everything in its place” as Ukrainian troops swept through the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
Then he asked:
