No undeclared activity at nuclear facilities in Ukraine: IAEA chief

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There are no undeclared activities at the nuclear facilities under safeguards in Ukraine, and all materials are used for peaceful purposes, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. 
 
According to the IAEA head, the agency conducts on-site inspections in accordance with the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement of Ukraine and the Additional Protocol and verifies all activities carried out at Ukraine's nuclear facilities.

Grossi confirmed that the nuclear materials under the safeguards are used for peaceful purposes, adding that the results of the samples taken at three more points in Ukraine are still being analyzed.  
 
In October, Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia's armed forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense said Ukraine's development of a "dirty bomb" is in the final stage.

"According to the information we have, two Ukrainian organizations have specific instructions to create the so-called 'dirty bomb.' Works are at the final stage," Kirillov told reporters.

According to the official, Kiev has a reason for using the "dirty bomb," as well as the scientific, technological, and production capabilities to create it.

Zelensky even underlined that NATO must carry out a preemptive strike against Russia instead of waiting for Russia's nuclear attacks. 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed concerns to his French, Turkish, and UK counterparts on Sunday 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.

Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy Director at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Arms Nonproliferation and Control, previously confirmed that Russia did not and does not threaten Kiev with using nuclear arms, while Lavrov highlighted that Ukraine was generating risks tied to using nuclear weapons of mass destruction which is clear from Zelensky's use of "nuclear first strike" indicating NATO's hit against Russia. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the IAEA to inspect Ukraine's nuclear sites "as fast as possible".

Earlier this month, the UN's nuclear watchdog said it had started inspections in Ukraine as part of "independent verification" of Russian statements that Kiev is producing so-called dirty bombs.  

The inspections come after the Ukrainian government's written request to send IAEA teams there.

It is worth mentioning that despite not seeing any preparations for the deployment of such weapons, the United States is taking seriously concerns that Kiev may use a so-called "dirty bomb," according to White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby. 

"All I can assure you is that we are taking that seriously, and we are monitoring as best as we can. I can also say, we just see no indication of preparations at this point," Kirby stated during a press briefing.