In response to Russian charges that work was being done on a “dirty bomb,” the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported on November 3 that it had found no evidence of unreported nuclear activity at three sites in Ukraine that it had examined. Kyiv had requested that these facilities be investigated.
Without providing any proof, Moscow has accused Ukraine on numerous occasions of preparing to use such a bomb—a conventional explosive device packed with radioactive material. Moscow also claimed that institutions connected to the nuclear industry were involved in the preparations. The charge is denied by the Ukrainian administration.
The finding was applauded by the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who stated in a video speech that “the only unclean objects in our territory right now are the skulls of those in Moscow who, sadly, usurped control of the Russian state and are frightening Ukraine and the entire globe.”
Moscow has been accused by some Ukrainian and Western officials of fabricating the claim in order to give itself cover before detonating its own dirty bomb and blaming Kiev.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has its headquarters in Vienna, released a statement saying that inspectors have had free access to the locations and have been able to complete all tasks that the agency had intended to carry out.
“The agency did not identify any signs of undeclared nuclear operations and materials at the locations,” the statement reads. “Based on the review of the results available to date and the information given by Ukraine.”
Following a request from Kiev, the IAEA said last month that it will assess two facilities in Ukraine. It claimed such inspections had started on Monday and ended on Thursday at three rather than just two places, all of which Russia had mentioned.
The Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv, the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Zhovti Kody, and the Production Association Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant in Dnipro were the places the IAEA identified.
According to the statement, inspectors also collected environmental samples that will be submitted to a facility for study. The IAEA will then provide a report on the findings.
