France rebuffs accusations against Ukraine regarding 'dirty bomb'

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French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre questioned the veracity of Russian claims that Ukraine is planning a provocation using a "dirty bomb," citing a lack of indication to such an intent on Kiev's part.

"We believe that these statements are false. There is no basis for such allegations," Legendre said as quoted by La Chaine Info TV channel.

This comes a few days after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Kiev is planning a terrorist sabotage act using a "dirty bomb", and Moscow will continue to exert strained efforts to prevent such irresponsible activity.

In the same context, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed concerns to his French, Turkish, and UK counterparts that Kiev, according to credible sources in various countries, including Ukraine, was planning a provocation involving the detonation of a dirty bomb on its own territory in order to blame Moscow for the use of weapons of mass destruction and thus tarnish the country's image.

The Foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, in a joint statement, rejected these claims last Monday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba rejected the accusations as well.

It is worth noting that Ukraine has a stockpile of radioactive material that can be used for its "dirty bomb", including spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the official.

See more: What’s a “dirty bomb”?