Ukrainian nuclear facilities open to IAEA today – Reznikov

Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov has stated that Ukrainian nuclear sites are open to international organizations, in particular the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The minister wrote this on Facebook in a response to claims by Russia that Ukraine could allegedly use a "dirty bomb".

Reznikov noted: "A guilty conscience gives itself away. Today the Russian federation at the top international level gave an official illustration to this proverb. Lies about a "dirty bomb" that Ukraine is supposedly preparing to use is an element of the Kremlin's usual tactics. The one where Russian criminals are trying to preemptively blame the victim of aggression for their own crime".

According to him, this has happened repeatedly since 2014. After 24 February, Russia has been openly threatening to use nuclear weapons. "In spring, they deliberately provoked disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and now they are blackmailing the world with a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Their missiles pose a threat to other Ukrainian nuclear facilities," he wrote.

Reznikov stressed that unlike Moscow, Ukraine has always been extremely responsible in matters of nuclear safety. Even today, Ukrainian nuclear sites are open to the IAEA. "It is easy to make sure that Russian statements are nonsense," he noted.

"The best response to Russian accusations is decisive steps to increase pressure on the criminal terrorist regime in Moscow, as well as active assistance to Ukraine with means that will help cleanse our land from the scourge quicker. So that no one would even think of committing a nuclear crime in Europe," Reznikov said.

He added that the attitude towards land in Ukraine has always been special. "Today from the reaction of our soldiers and all our people I can see how sincerely they strive to free Ukrainian land from Russian dirt. From projectiles, remnants of equipment, garbage left behind by the Russian hordes. It is not even a military need; it is a mental one. Therefore, even theoretically, it is impossible to imagine that Ukraine is capable of doing something that could cause the long-term contamination of our land. This is nonsense," the defense minister said.

He thanked Ukrainian partners who adequately perceive this "dangerous Russian twaddle".