Ukraine War: Russia Alerts Rajnath Singh to ‘Dirty Bomb’, He Warns Against N-Option
On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu phoned the defence ministers of India and China to convey Moscow’s concern about Ukraine’s plan to use a “dirty bomb”, reiterating the allegation that Ukraine and the West have already been rejected.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, on his part, told Shoigu that the Ukraine conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and neither side should resort to the nuclear option.
Shoigu briefed Singh about the evolving situation in Ukraine, including his concerns about possible “provocation through the use of dirty bombs”, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The talks took place on the initiative of the Russian Defense Minister amid escalating hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
“Singh reiterated India’s position on the need to follow the path of dialogue and diplomacy for an early resolution of the conflict,” the ministry said.
“He said that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by either side because the possibility of using nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic principles of humanity,” he said.
The ministry said the two ministers discussed bilateral defence cooperation and the deteriorating Ukraine situation.
Wednesday’s talks followed Shoigu’s calls on Sunday to his British, French, Turkish and American counterparts in which he made the same claim. Britain, France and the US dismissed that claim as “transparently false”.
On 10 October, within hours of Russia firing cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities, including civilian facilities in Kyiv, India said it was “deeply concerned” at the escalation of the conflict, including targeting infrastructure and civilian casualties. Death was involved.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, that “today’s era is not an era of war” was one of New Delhi’s sharpest statements since. India has not yet publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
