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 World Ukraine War: What is a 'dirty bomb' and why is Russia worried about it? Ukraine war: What is a 'dirty bomb' and why is Russia worried about it?

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has claimed, without any concrete evidence, that Ukraine could use 'dirty bombs' during the war.

A dirty bomb is a weapon that contains radioactive materials in addition to conventional explosives. The Ukrainian government, but also France, Great Britain and the United States, have denied these Russian claims.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has told British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that he is "concerned about provocations by Ukraine, including dirty bomb attacks." Shoigu has made similar remarks in talks with the defense ministers of the United States, France and Turkey.

In a joint response, the governments of France, Britain and the United States said "we reject all baseless allegations by Russia that Ukraine may use dirty bombs on its territory."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the allegations, accusing Russia of "everything imaginable in this war, which Russia is the source of.

What is a dirty bomb?

This is called a radiological dispersion device. It is a type of bomb that contains radioactive material such as uranium that is released into the atmosphere after the detonation of a conventional explosive.

These bombs do not require highly advanced radioactive materials like atomic bombs. Instead, radioactive materials from hospitals, nuclear plants or research laboratories can be used. For this reason, they can be produced at a much lower cost and in a shorter time than nuclear bombs. For example, they can be placed in a car and detonated.

Since radioactive contamination causes serious diseases such as cancer, such a bomb could cause panic among the target population. A large area around the site of an explosion may have to be evacuated or abandoned altogether.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, if only 9 grams of cobalt and 5 kilograms of TNT were to explode in Manhattan, New York, the entire area would be uninhabitable for decades. For this reason, the dirty bomb is also called a weapon of mass disruption. However, as a weapon, they cannot be relied upon too much.

Why does Russia claim the dirty bomb?

The US-based think tank Institute of War Studies (ISW) says that Russia's defense minister made the claim to "slow or completely stop aid from Western countries to Ukraine and prevent the NATO alliance." Is". There are also suspicions that Russia itself has used dirty bombs in Ukraine and falsely claimed attacks to hold Ukraine accountable.

However, many military analysts believe that Russia would not be so foolish as to use a weapon that could harm its own soldiers and even civilians. ISW says, "Russia does not appear to be preparing for an immediate fake dirty bomb attack."

Have dirty bombs been used before?

Till date there has been no successful attack of dirty bomb anywhere in the world. However, attempts have been made to carry out such attacks. Cesium has been extracted from tools used to treat cancer.

In 1996, Chechen rebels planted a bomb containing gunpowder and a mixture of casium-137 in Moscow's Izmailovo Park. This cesium was also extracted from devices used in the treatment of cancer. Security forces learned about the location of the bomb and defused it. In 1998, Chechen security forces defused a dirty bomb planted along a railway line.

In 2002, American citizen Jose Padilla was arrested on suspicion of planning a dirty bomb attack in Chicago. Padilla had ties to al-Qaeda and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

In 2004, British citizen and Al Qaeda member Dhiran Beirat was arrested in London. He was accused of planning dirty bomb attacks in the United States and Britain. In 2006, Dheeran was sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, both Dheeran and Padilla had not started building their bombs by the time of their arrest.

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