In the United States, Great Britain and France, the statement of the head of the Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu that Ukraine is going to detonate a "dirty bomb" on its territory is a lie. This is stated in a joint statement by the foreign ministries of the three countries, published on the website of the State Department:
“The defense ministers of each of our countries spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at his request. Our countries have made it clear that we reject Russia's blatantly false claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a "dirty bomb" on its territory. Any attempt to use this accusation as a pretext for escalation will be seen around the world. And we reject any pretext for escalation from Russia.”
On October 23, Shoigu called colleagues from France, Turkey and the UK and told them about the threat of a "dirty bomb" that Ukraine allegedly plans to detonate. The first message about the "dirty bomb" appeared on the website of the RIA Novosti agency on Sunday morning. It said, citing "trustworthy sources in different countries", that Kyiv was preparing a provocation on the territory of its country related to the detonation of a "dirty bomb", or a low-yield nuclear weapon could be detonated.
“The purpose of the provocation is to accuse Russia of using weapons of mass destruction in the Ukrainian theater of operations and thereby launch a powerful anti-Russian campaign in the world aimed at undermining confidence in Moscow,” RIA Novosti reported.
A "dirty bomb" or radiological dispersal device (RDD) is an explosive device that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. When the charge is detonated, the radioactive substance is sprayed by a shock wave over a large area.