Russia accuses Ukraine of planning ‘false flag’ attack

Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to stage a nuclear incident on its territory to pin the blame on Moscow ahead of a key United Nations meeting.

According to a Russian defence ministry statement, radioactive substances have been transported to Ukraine from an unnamed European country and Kyiv was preparing a large-scale “provocation”,

“The aim of the provocation is to accuse Russia’s army of allegedly carrying out indiscriminate strikes on hazardous radioactive facilities in Ukraine, leading to the leakage of radioactive substances and contamination of the area,” it said.

Russia has repeatedly accused Kyiv of planning “false flag” operations with non-conventional weapons using biological or radioactive materials. No such attack has materialised.

Ukraine and its allies have dismissed such accusations as cynical attempts to spread disinformation, and have accused Moscow of planning incidents itself in a bid to blame Ukraine.

Moscow’s allegations came as Ukrainian officials urged United States politicians to press US President Joe Biden’s administration to send F-16 fighter jets, saying the aircraft would boost Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian missile units.

The lobbying came over the weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in talks between Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Democrats and Republicans from the US Senate and House of Representatives.

“They told us that they want [F-16s] to suppress enemy air defences so they could get their drones beyond Russian front lines,” said Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who flew US Navy fighters in combat.

Biden administration officials, speaking on Sunday, said the US should focus on providing weapons that can be used immediately on the battlefield, rather than fighter jets that require extensive training.

But they did not categorically rule out providing F-16s.

“Discussions will continue over the course of the next few weeks and months,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters.

Meanwhile, support is building on both sides of the Atlantic for providing Ukraine with advanced NATO-standard jet fighters. The United Kingdom says it would provide training.

Both sides, however, have been reluctant to use their airpower in a significant way since the war began.

Also Read: Ukraine war: Zelenskiy urges faster military aid

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said US lawmakers broadly support training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and said he believed the Biden administration would soon agree to do so.

He said he did not worry that the F-16s would escalate the conflict. “Don’t worry about provoking Putin; worry about beating him,” he said on broadcaster ABC News.

Calls to supply Ukraine with advanced jets follow agreements last month by France, the UK, the US and Germany to supply Kyiv with modern battle tanks.

Washington has provided $30bn in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of what Moscow calls its “special military operation”.

Some Western officials have said that Ukraine’s allies should focus less on advanced fighter aircraft and more on basic logistics such as artillery shells.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned about Ukraine’s dwindling supplies of bullets and similar munitions as it fights back against Russia’s invasion.

“Ukraine is in a critical situation from the point of view with ammunition available,” he said. “This shortage of ammunition has to resolve quickly – it’s a matter of weeks.”

Zainab Sa’id