Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke by phone with French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Sunday and said he feared Ukraine would resort to a “dirty bomb,” Moscow’s military said in a statement. This interview was conducted at the request of the Russian minister, according to information from BFMTV.
The Russian minister expressed “concern over possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb'” to blame Russia, Moscow reports, referring to the nuclear weapon.
Sergei Shoigu also denounced during this call the situation in Ukraine “which tends to escalate in an uncontrolled way”, according to this same source.
France rejects “any escalation” of the conflict
Sébastien Lecornu, for his part, recalled that “France rejects any form of escalation”, in particular “nuclear”, BFMTV learned from an Elysian source.
Paris also once again calls on Russia to “end its war of aggression against Ukraine” and to “do everything possible to contribute to de-escalation”.
Finally, the Minister of the Armed Forces underlined, always in relation to the war in Ukraine, that “France is determined to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, together with its allies”.
The two ministers agreed to keep in touch, according to our information, and Sébastien Lecornu is expected to speak quickly with his Ukrainian counterpart.
This call comes as Russia is facing a major Ukrainian counter-offensive and denounces a “significant increase” in Ukrainian fire in several Russian border regions.
Source: BFM TV
