The Russian ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) said on Monday that the country will consider a “dirty bomb” attack by Ukraine as “an act of nuclear terrorism.”
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia wrote a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the organization’s Security Council asking that the U.N. do as much as possible to “prevent this heinous crime from happening,” according to Reuters.
The Security Council will meet on Tuesday, when Russia has asked it to discuss the country’s accusation that Ukraine is planning an attack using a bomb laced with nuclear material.
“We will regard the use of the ‘dirty bomb’ by the Kiev regime as an act of nuclear terrorism,” wrote Nebenzia in the letter viewed by Reuters.
Russia will allegedly raise the issue on Tuesday during a private U.N. meeting, attempting to rally other countries against Ukraine in the conflict that began in late February.
Reuters reported that Zelensky disputes the Russian narrative of the “dirty bomb,” claiming that Russia will stage an attack and blame it on Ukraine.
“Reminder: Ukraine has no nuclear weapons,” wrote the United Kingdom’s mission to the U.N. on Monday evening.
Addressing the disagreement, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, “All parties should avoid any actions that could lead to miscalculation and escalation of what’s already a devastating conflict.”
September’s Security Council meeting ushered in tense discussions concerning Russia’s membership in the U.N. organ despite its war on Ukraine.
“That [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin picked this week, as most of the world gathers at the United Nations, to add fuel to the fire that he started shows his utter contempt for the U.N. Charter for the General Assembly and for this council,” said Secretary of Antony Blinken at the time, adding that Putin’s actions are causing the group to be “shredded before our eyes.”
Guterres added to the criticism of Russia at the meeting, emphasizing that “thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed or injured, mostly by Russian bombardment of urban areas.”