Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has spoken with his counterparts from the United States, Turkey, France, and the United Kingdom, claiming that Ukraine is preparing for a false-flag attack using a nuclear dirty bomb.
The Russian MoD readouts of the calls have slight differences between them. Shoigu’s call to the French Minister of Armed Forces, Sebastian Lecornu, said Shoigu talked about a “steady tendency toward further, uncontrolled escalation” and Russia was “concerned over a dirty bomb attack on the territory of Ukraine in order to blame Russia for this”. Lecornu then stated that he would call the Ukrainian Defense Minister to discuss the conversation.
For the United Kingdom’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, Shoigu “alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine”. This call was the first between the two men. The United Kingdom has supported Ukraine throughout the war, training soldiers on NATO weapons and providing military aid.
The US-Russia call happened with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin proclaiming he “rejected any pretext for Russian escalation” and, according to the Russian readout of the call, made no reference to the “dirty bomb”. This was the second call between them in a week, with the last call happening on October 21. The United States has been a fervent supporter of Ukraine since the invasion, sending billions of dollars in both lethal and non-lethal aid to the country.
Sergey spoke to the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and according to the Russian MoD, discussed the “situation in Ukraine” and continued with the claims that Ukraine is preparing the use of a dirty bomb. The last call between the ministers took place on October 12, where Turkey urged that “an immediate ceasefire is essential to prevent further casualties and restore peace and stability in the region” to Shoigu. Turkey has been trying to act as a mediator between the two sides, attempting to broker peace agreements, which all fell through, and then supporting a Russian-Ukrainian deal to allow the transport of Ukrainian grain out of the country.
– Article was written by GoodHistory Contributor Alexander Korfiatis
