Vladimir Putin issues 'dirty bomb' threat in response to drone strike on Moscow: report

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday rekindled his "threats" of a "dirty bomb" incident as a potential response to a drone strike on a residential building in Moscow that was reportedly carried out by Ukraine.

"Ukrainian citizens need to understand that there are other threats as well, for instance, attempts to disrupt the operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant or use 'dirty' devices related to nuclear technology," Putin said in an interview with Director Svetlana Chupsheva General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives according to The Washington Examiner. "We have talked about this more than once. We know what they have in mind."

Russian forces seized control of the facility in March 2022 shortly after Putin launched his illegal invasion of Ukraine, which has killed tens of thousands of people on both sides and spurned allegations of war crimes at the hands of Putin's troops.

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Per The Washington Examiner, "Putin attributed such a plot to Ukrainian authorities, reiterating an accusation previously aired by Russian defense officials in October — and perceived around the world as a thinly veiled Russian threat of nuclear escalation in response to Ukraine's fall counteroffensive. He renewed that allegation moments after broaching the topic of retaliation for the Tuesday morning drone attack, which caused only 'minor damage' but shocked Moscow's government and paramilitary elites, as U.N. officials scrambled to avoid a military showdown for control of the plant."

Putin also claimed that Kyiv is trying to instigate Moscow into committing future attacks.

"I am not even so much concerned about this as over the attempts to trigger a Russian response," he said. "Apparently, they are provoking us into responding in a like manner. We will have to consider how to approach this."

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The Washington Examiner's report continues here.