What is a dirty bomb and why is Russia saying Ukraine can use it?
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Britain’s Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace, in a phone call that he was “concerned about possible provocations by Kyiv that include the use of a dirty bomb”.
He made similar comments on his contrasting numbers in the US, France and Turkey.
Russia has also made its claims to the UN Security Council, saying that the use of dirty bombs would be an act of nuclear terrorism.
Also Read:- US Democrats Urge Joe Biden To Negotiate With Russia To End Ukraine War: Report 25Oct 2022
Its comments have been rejected by the foreign ministers of France, Britain and the US, who said Russia had made “transparently false allegations”.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of being “the source of everything imaginable in this war”.
What is a dirty bomb?
It is a bomb containing a radioactive material, such as uranium, that disintegrates into the air when its conventional explosive detonates.
It does not need to contain highly sophisticated radioactive material, as used in the atomic bomb. Instead, it may use radioactive material from hospitals, nuclear power stations or research laboratories.
This makes them much cheaper and faster than nuclear weapons. For example, they can also be carried in the back of a vehicle.
Since radioactive consequences can cause serious diseases such as cancer, such bombs will create panic among the target population.
Also Read:- Save Your Lives Russia Tells Kherson Civilians as battle looms: Report 24Oct 2022
A wide area around the blast zone would also have to be evacuated for decontamination, or abandoned entirely.
The Federation of American Scientists has calculated that if a bomb containing 9g (0.3oz) of cobalt-60 and 5kg of TNT were detonated at the tip of Manhattan in New York, it would render an entire area of the city uninhabitable. decade.
For this reason, dirty bombs are known as weapons of mass disruption.
However, as weapons, they are very unreliable.
For the radioactive material in a dirty bomb to be scattered over its target area, it has to be reduced to a powder form. But if the particles are too fine or are released into strong winds, they will be scattered too widely to do much damage.
Why did Russia make its ‘Dirty Bomb’ claim?
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said that Russia’s defense minister “tried to slow or suspend Western military aid to Ukraine and possibly undermine the NATO alliance in scare calls”.
There has also been speculation that Russia is planning to detonate a dirty bomb in Ukraine itself and is blaming the Ukrainian military for the “false flag” attack.
However, many military analysts say Russia would not be so foolish, noting that a dirty bomb could damage its own troops and the territory it controls.
Also Read:- US says Russia not interested in ending Ukraine aggression: Report 22Oct 2022
The ISW itself has said: “The Kremlin is unlikely to prepare for an imminent false-flag dirty bomb attack.”
Have any dirty bombs been used before?
So far there has not been a successful dirty-bomb attack anywhere in the world.
However, efforts have been made.
In 1996, Chechnya rebels planted a bomb containing dynamite and cesium-137 in Izmailovo Park in Moscow.
Cesium was extracted from a cancer-treatment device.
Security services discovered its location and it was disabled.
In 1998, Chechnya’s intelligence service found and defused a dirty bomb placed near a railway line in Chechnya.
In 2002, Jose Padilla, a US citizen who had links with al-Qaeda, was arrested on suspicion of planning a dirty bomb attack in Chicago. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
#what is a dirty bomb #what is a dirty bomb #what is a dirty bomb #what is a dirty bomb
What is a dirty bomb and why is Russia saying Ukraine can use it?
Also Read:- Israel and Ukraine discuss air defense systems after drone strikes: Report 21Oct 2022
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News East India staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
[…] What is a dirty bomb and why is Russia saying Ukraine… […]