No side should opt for N-weapons: Rajnath Singh amid 'dirty bomb' threat

New Delhi, October 26

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, on Wednesday said that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side involved in the Ukraine conflict and that the crisis should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Shoigu briefed Rajnath Singh on the evolving situation in Ukraine, including his concern on possible provocations through the use of “dirty bomb” by Ukraine. Reiterating India’s stand, Rajnath Singh said the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons went against the basic tenets of humanity.

The conversation took place at the initiative of the Russian Defence Minister amid escalation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. The two ministers also discussed defence cooperation.

Russia has made it public that two organisations in Ukraine have been ordered to create the “dirty bomb” and the work is at the concluding stage. It says the office of the President of Ukraine and representatives of the United Kingdom are in touch regarding the possible technologies to create nuclear arms. “Ukraine has the required production and scientific capacities. There are enterprises of nuclear industry in Ukraine that possess stockpiles of radioactive substances which can be used for creating the ‘dirty bomb’. These concern three operating nuclear power plants: the Yuzhnoukrainsk, Khmelnitsky and Rivne plants with nine storage pools for spent nuclear fuel,” Russia has said.

Rajnath Singh’s comments that the nuclear option should not be resorted to is a message to Russia as well as western powers backing Ukraine, those familiar with the matter said.

Hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have intensified with Moscow carrying out retaliatory missile strikes targeting Ukrainian cities in response to a huge blast in Crimea nearly two weeks back. Moscow blames Kyiv for the blast. The Indian embassy in Ukraine has asked Indian nationals to leave the country at the earliest in view of the fresh wave of hostilities.

Show of force by Moscow with drills, practice launches

• Putin had issued a veiled threat that Moscow could exercise the option of using N-weapons to defend Russian territory in case of escalation
• In a show of force, the Russian President on Wednesday monitored drills of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles
• Since the conflict began in February, PM Modi has spoken to Russian Prez Vladimir Putin as well as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a number of times