Russia revealed on Sunday that it was concerned about “possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb,'” a device that includes radioactive elements. The message, with few details about the accusation, was transmitted by the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, to the French and Turkish counterparts and is advanced in a brief statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by the Efe news agency.
In response, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the French Armed Forces, recalled that his country “rejects any form of escalation, especially nuclear.”
Border regions on alert
Vladimir Putin’s country is currently facing a major counter-offensive from Ukraine and Moscow has even denounced the “significant increase” in Ukrainian attacks on several Russian border regions, including Belgorod, Kursk and Briansk. Two defense lines were built in Kursk to deal with a possible attack by Ukrainian forces, the region’s governor, Roman Starovoit, announced on Sunday.
“We are prepared to face any attack on our territory,” he assured.
The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, also on the border with Ukraine, announced on Saturday the start of construction of a defense line. That day, two people were killed in Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Belgorod region and almost 15,000 residents were left without electricity in their homes for several hours, local authorities said, quoted by AFP.
Source: TSF