The International Atomic Energy Agency, at the request of Kyiv, will send its inspectors to two facilities in Ukraine. This decision was taken after Russian statements that these facilities were allegedly carrying out activities to create a "dirty bomb".
The director general of the agency said that both sites are already under IAEA safeguards and are regularly visited by inspectors:
“A month ago, the IAEA inspected one of these sites, and all of our findings are consistent with Ukraine's statements on safeguards. No undeclared nuclear activity or material was found there."
Nevertheless, the IAEA will visit the same places in the coming days. The purpose of the visit is to detect any possible undeclared nuclear activity.
On October 23, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the heads of the defense departments of Great Britain, Turkey, France and the United States by telephone that provocations from Ukraine using a “dirty bomb” were possible. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba responded by saying that Ukraine is an adherent of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, does not have a "dirty bomb" and is not going to acquire one.
A "dirty bomb" or radiological dispersal device 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.
