In a telephone conversation with his French counterpart, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Kyiv was planning to detonate a radioactive bomb to discredit Moscow.

Shoigu "conveyed his concern about possible provocations of Ukraine with the help of a 'dirty bomb'," the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Conventional explosive devices that also scatter radioactive material are referred to as "dirty bombs". For its part, Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union, accuses Russia of planning to drop such a bomb.

Moscow: "Uncontrolled escalation" in Ukraine

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the situation in Ukraine is becoming more and more critical towards an "uncontrolled escalation". Russia's state-run news agency Ria Novosti claimed that Kyiv has virtually completed the completion of a small tactical nuclear bomb and is ready to detonate it on its own soil "to launch a strong anti-Russian campaign designed to undermine trust in Moscow".

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine hasn't gone as planned by Moscow for months. The advance initially faltered, and in the meantime the Russian units have even gotten partially on the defensive. Against this background, speculation about a possible Russian use of tactical nuclear weapons against the neighboring country is increasing. Moscow denies any such intentions.