Russia is once again making some strange accusations against Ukraine: this time the international community is likely to be the addressee.
Moscow - Russia has already started its spring offensive in the Ukraine war - the experts at the Institute for the Study of War, among others, are certain of that.
However, the US think tank classified the chances of success as low.
A second, rhetorical offensive may also be launched.
In the fall, Vladimir Putin's mouthpieces began using drastic rhetoric to locate "Satan" in Ukraine.
Already at the beginning of the invasion it was said that a "Nazi regime" was being dealt with and that a "genocide" was taking place in the Donbass.
From a Western point of view, these abstruse accusations were probably addressed to the Russian public - to religious feelings and pride in the victory over Nazi Germany.
A wave of allegations followed over the weekend, which should also be aimed at the international audience.
Russia Blames Ukraine Without Evidence: Alleged 'Nuclear Provocation'
Among other things, there was talk of preparations for a “nuclear provocation”.
In a statement released on Sunday (February 19), Russia's military leadership claims that Kiev wants to blame Moscow for a "gross breach" of nuclear security.
However, the ministry does not explain how this allegation came about, nor is there any evidence to support it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously claimed that he knew the location where Kiev was building a dirty bomb containing nuclear material.
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency traveled to Ukraine to investigate the allegations.
There was no confirmation of the Russian claims.
War in Ukraine: Notable allegations - Putin's investigators rebuke the use of mercenaries
The head of a Russian "investigative committee" also raised allegations of crimes committed during the war.
Ukraine beheads slain mercenaries from among its ranks to cover up their identities, Alexander Bastrykin claimed in a conversation with the state agency TASS published on Monday.
The hands of those who died were also cut off.
Several mutilated bodies were found in the war zone.
The agency did not provide any evidence or further information.
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Vladimir Putin and Alexander Bastrykin (right) at a meeting in autumn 2022.
© IMAGO/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin Pool
At the same time, Bastrykin stated that foreign mercenaries in Ukraine received the equivalent of between 820 and almost 2,750 dollars in pay.
The use of mercenaries is internationally outlawed, he stressed.
However, it is no secret that foreign fighters also work for Ukraine in the war.
Nor that Russia itself relies on mercenaries on a large scale and that Russian mercenaries are active abroad.
Unofficial confirmed reports of Russian recruitment abroad, such as in Afghanistan, are also circulating.
The question also remains open as to whether the pay mentioned would actually be a significant incentive for Western fighters to risk their lives in the Ukraine war.
Putin's Kremlin comments on the Crimean Bridge: Perpetrators also from Russia
Another allegation by Bastrykin sounds more plausible: the attack on the Crimean bridge last October was organized by Ukrainian secret services, he told Tass.
Twelve alleged perpetrators from Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia and Russia have already been identified, eight of them are in custody.
At the same time, this communication suggests that Ukraine can also draw on a network of supporters in Russia and in the wider post-Soviet space.
The country had never confirmed involvement in the attack on the symbolically important bridge.
Presidential adviser Michailo Podolyak indirectly announced further similar actions.
Since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has been raising allegations against Kiev - probably also to justify the war of aggression.
However, certain allegations have repeatedly fueled concerns about a further escalation from the Russian side.
For example, Moscow had claimed that there were secret bio-laboratories in Ukraine.
Some observers warned that this could be a sign of a Russian use of biological weapons.
The accusations could also be understood as advertising for understanding on the international stage.
Experts at the Munich Security Conference recently diagnosed a "competition between systems" and warned of a charm offensive for support from the "Global South".
Russia's allegations in the Ukraine war: repeated "false flag" warnings
During the Ukraine war, Russia had repeatedly warned of imminent "false flag" actions - for example around a dam near Cherson.
However, there were almost always no such incidents.
However, it is unclear what is behind the allegations of a "nuclear provocation".
The EU sees a massive disinformation campaign from Russia as part of a fight for "people's hearts and minds".
According to Russian information, next week, on the first anniversary of the war of aggression ordered by Putin on February 24, Kiev plans to accuse Moscow of indiscriminate bombing of nuclear objects and radioactive pollution of the environment.
For this purpose, some containers with radioactive substances had been transported by a European country, which was not named, circumventing customs regulations.
The material should then be used to stage contamination of radioactive dangerous objects.
Ukraine, in turn, repeatedly accuses Russia of wanting to trigger a nuclear catastrophe with rockets flying past nuclear power plants.
The leadership in Kiev speaks of terrorism and sanctions against Moscow's nuclear industry.
(fn/dpa)
