Ukraine at OSCE: Russia intensifies its lie about ‘dirty bomb’, plots provocations

"Recent statements by the Russian president about the intentions to create a ‘sanitary zone’ in Ukraine once again indicate that Moscow has not changed its goals but seeks to dismantle Ukrainian statehood. Moscow's activation of the old disinformation campaign about a ‘dirty bomb’ – a lie that has already been dispelled by the IAEA in its statement yesterday – and about combat mosquitoes may indicate possible new provocations," Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting on June 22, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

The Ukrainian diplomat added that in view of such genocidal statements, the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, as well as the reports of mining of the ZNPP and the Crimean Titan plant in Armiansk, "are a strict reminder that all necessary measures must be taken to prevent new terrorist acts and stop impunity of the Russian regime".

Tsymbaliuk emphasized that Russia's launching one of the largest missile attacks on Kyiv on June 16, during the visit of African leaders to the Ukrainian capital, "eloquently testifies that Russia seeks war, not peace."

He pointed out that the crimes committed by Russia every day "clearly show that there is no alternative to the liberation of all Ukrainian lands from Russian occupation."

"Restoring Ukraine's sovereignty in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk regions, and the Crimean peninsula is the only way to protect the people who live there. We will do it gradually and systematically, step by step," said the head of Ukraine’s mission to the OSCE.

Earlier, the Russian propaganda media spread false information that "the foreign intelligence service of Russia received data on the decision of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine to send a batch of irradiated fuel from the Rivne NPP for processing." It was stated that "this fuel was moved in two containers to the storage site in Chornobyl", and "the IAEA was not informed". As Russian propaganda claimed, "all this can be explained by Ukraine's intentions to continue working on a dirty nuclear bomb."

However, the IAEA stated that it had been properly informed in advance by the Ukrainian side about the transportation of spent nuclear fuel from the Rivne NPP to the Chornobyl NPP – this process was monitored by the Agency's experts and the fuel is now under IAEA guarantees.