Putin's new keynote speech: Misleading messages and new statements about 'dirty bomb'
Created: 10/28/2022 11:18 am
By: Stephanie Munk
In a keynote speech, Putin repeated allegations against Ukraine and called for an international mission.
He covered up problems in the Ukraine war.
MOSCOW/Kyiv - Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed allegations against Ukraine and the West in an explosive speech on Thursday (October 27).
He also repeated the warning of an alleged "dirty bomb" that Ukraine wants to detonate in its own country in order to discredit Russia, during an appearance at the "Valdai Club", a scientific discussion forum.
Putin claimed that he even had some knowledge of where the nuclear-contaminated bomb was being built.
Putin continued: "I gave Shoigu the instruction to call all colleagues."
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu informed his colleagues in the US, Britain, France and Turkey on Sunday (October 23) about Ukraine's alleged plans.
They immediately rejected this as false.
On Wednesday, Russia then presented alleged "photo evidence" of the construction of the bomb.
It was embarrassing: at least one of the pictures was clearly revealed to be a fake - instead of radioactive material, it apparently showed old smoke detectors from Slovenia.
Putin calls for nuclear agency mission - Ukraine wants to "cover tracks"
In his speech, Putin called for a mission by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA should come to Ukraine "as soon as possible" because Kyiv is doing everything "to cover the traces of these preparations," said Putin.
Ukraine, which has vehemently denied the allegations, had previously called for an independent investigation.
The nuclear authority now wants to send an observer mission to Ukraine this week, said IAEA boss Rafael Grossi.
The aim is to track down possible undeclared nuclear activity and materials related to the development of "dirty bombs".
Any diversion of nuclear material and any undeclared production or processing of nuclear material should be uncovered, Grossi said.
"Dirty bomb": That's what it means
"Dirty bombs" are conventional explosive devices that release radioactive, biological or chemical substances when they detonate.
"A dirty bomb is not a weapon of mass destruction, but a 'weapon of massive disruption,' where contamination and fear are the primary objectives," reads an article from the independent US nuclear regulatory agency.
"Dirty bombs" can panic an entire population.
They are much easier to manufacture than atomic bombs.
The small amounts of radioactive material required are found in hospitals, research and industrial facilities or military facilities.
Such a bomb has never been detonated before.
Putin's speech on the Ukraine war: Russia's president glosses over difficulties
In his latest speech, Putin tried to cover up the situation in the Ukraine war, which after eight months has gotten worse than ever and is costing the Russian army enormous resources.
The war "united" and "solidified" Russia, he claimed.
At the same time, support for the Russian government's course within Russia seems to be crumbling: even military leaders who are actually loyal to Putin, such as Ramzan Kadyrov and Yevgeny Progoshin, have recently come out with open criticism of the Defense Ministry.
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Putin's assertion that there is "a great willingness to fight for one's own people" in Russia also does not sound particularly credible in view of the hundreds of thousands of Russians who fled the country after the partial mobilization had been ordered to avoid being drafted.
Putin speech on Ukraine war: He used the word "West" over 50 times
Political scientist Rainer Munz told the news channel RTL/ntv that, in his opinion, Putin's speech was primarily aimed at the West.
According to an analysis, the Russian President used the word "West" around 50 times.
He believes that the Russian President would like to start new negotiations due to the difficult situation of the Russian army and the strong defense of the Ukrainians.
In his speech, Putin declared, among other things, that "Russia does not and does not see itself as an enemy of the West", but at the same time he directed massive allegations at the USA and criticized the current international order.
(smu with material from dpa and AFP)