Kyiv is planning to stage a ‘false flag’ nuclear incident on its own territory to pin the blame on Russia ahead of the key meeting in United Nations, Moscow alleged on Sunday without providing any evidence for the stated accusations.
Russia’s defense ministry informed in a statement on Sunday that an unnamed European country and Kyiv were transporting radioactive substances to Ukraine and preparing a large-scale “provocation” aimed at accusing Russian troops.
Their intention, according to Moscow, is to frame Russian troops for carrying out indiscriminate strikes on hazardous radioactive facilities in Ukraine which might lead to the leakage of radioactive substances and contamination of the surrounding area.
Although no such attack has materialized, Russia has repeatedly accused Kyiv of planning “false flag” ops on its territory with non-conventional weapons- using biological or radioactive materials- since it invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, but Kyiv and its allies have dismissed such accusations, branding them cynical disinformation attempts, and accusing Moscow of planning incidents itself in a bid to pin the blame to Ukraine.
Moscow’s allegations come in light of the Munich Security Conference that Ukrainian officials used for lobbying.
During the talks over the weekend on the sidelines of the conference, which included Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, among other Kyiv officials, and Democrats and Republicans from the US Senate and House of Representatives, Ukrainians urged US officials to pressure the Biden administration into sending F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv to boost Ukraine’s ability to respond to Russian missile units’ attacks.
Asked last month if he would approve Ukraine’s request for F-16s, President Biden said “no” and the Biden administration officials on Sunday reiterated his stand, pointing out that rather than fighter jets that require extensive training, the US should provide Ukraine with weapons that can be used immediately on the battlefield.
They, however, did not categorically rule out providing F-16s, with the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, noting that discussions will continue over the course of the next few weeks and months.