Using apparently fake photos, the Russian Foreign Ministry claims to have “evidence” for the construction of a “dirty” – i.e. nuclear-contaminated – bomb in Ukraine.
But now the giddiness over the alleged photographic evidence is flying over Russia. Slovenia accuses Russia of using an old photo of smoke detectors for its alleged evidence.
Photos are 12 years old
The photo published by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the online network Twitter comes from the Slovenian nuclear waste disposal authority ARAO.
It is more than 12 years old and was recorded in 2010. Dragan Barbutovski, adviser to Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob (55), told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.
“Dirty Bomb” claim
The photo was “abused without ARAO’s knowledge,” Barbutovski added. Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, responsible for radioactive, biological and chemicals, said on Monday that Ukraine was “in the final stages” of producing a “dirty bomb”.
According to Russian information, “two Ukrainian facilities have been given specific instructions for the production of the so-called dirty bomb,” Kirillov said.
They are smoke detectors
He accompanied his statements with a photo published on Twitter, which showed, among other things, a container with the Slovenian word “Radioaktivno” on it and which, according to Russian information, contained nuclear waste.
In fact, this photo was used by the ARAO as an explanation for “presentations to a specialized audience and the general public,” explained the head of the Slovenian authority, Sandi Virsek. The container pictured would contain “general purpose smoke detectors” – and no radioactive material at all.
Nuclear waste stored safely
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (70) himself repeated the fairy tale about the alleged bomb. The images, now exposed as fake, continue to cast doubt on Russia’s credibility.
The former Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia has been a member of the EU and NATO since 2004. The country operates a nuclear power plant in Krsko, near the Croatian border, and the nuclear waste generated there is kept safe, ARAO said. (euc/AFP)