In the last 48 hours, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu has called his counterpart in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Turkey. In his phone calls to the French, British, and Turkish ministers of defense, Shoigu warned of the use of “dirty bombs” by the Ukrainians.
“The situation in Ukraine was discussed. Army General S.K. Shoigu conveyed to his British counterpart concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a “dirty bomb,” the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry said.
With regards to his conversation with the Turkish Defense Minister: “The situation in Ukraine was discussed. Army General Sergei Shoigu conveyed to his Turkish counterpart his concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a “dirty bomb,” the report says, mirroring the conversation with Secretary Wallace from the U.K.
However, the conversation with the French Defense Ministry is what grabbed headlines today as Shoigu told his counterpart that the situation in Ukraine was tantamount to “endless escalation”. According to Russian state owned media: ”the Kyiv authorities are preparing to detonate a low-yield nuclear weapon on the territory of Ukraine in order to accuse Russia of using weapons of mass destruction.”
This messaging campaign from the Defense Ministry could be part of a grey propaganda campaign by the Russian government to precede the use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Up until now, there has not been such a coordinated campaign to warn of the Ukrainian use of such a weapon.
