According to the head of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, following a bombing of a depot in Khmelnytskyi containing depleted uranium missiles supplied by the West, a “radioactive cloud” from Ukraine would be heading towards Europe. The news of an alleged radioactive contamination has been circulating on social networks for a few days, disseminating graphics from European bodies, sharing an alleged statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and claiming a depletion of iodine stocks in the affected Ukrainian regions. In fact, no alarm was raised by the Ukrainian authorities and neighboring countries involved in the Russian communiqué.
For those in a hurry
- The Ukrainian authorities deny the presence of missiles or bombs containing depleted uranium in the places affected by the bombing.
- No Ukrainian authority has declared an increase in radiation following the bombing, just as there are no leaflets to warn local citizens.
- Analyzes conducted by the experts did not reveal an increase in radiation in Khmelnytskyi.
- The Polish and Slovak authorities have denied the rumors of an alleged increase in values in their territories.
- The only source to support these rumors are Russian ones, without any proof.
Analyses
In addition to the words of the Russian Nikolai Patrushev, it is circulating the photo of a letterhead attributed to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health on the danger of radiation contamination in Khmelnytskyi:
There is no confirmation of this press release or references to that effect from the sites and institutional accounts of the Ministryfrom the “Civil protection” Ukrainian or del Center of Public Health (the respective logos are shown at the top of the printed sheet). Already in the past, leaflets allegedly attributed to the German and Ukrainian authorities were displayed on the same identical bulletin board, proving that they had been created and photographed in the same place by pro-Russian propaganda. This last document, the only one circulating online, seems to be the consequent evolution of this kind of communication.
Denials from Ukraine
On May 18, 2023, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine published an article on the analyzes carried out in Khmelnytskyi following allegations by pro-Russian channels of a radioactive leak. The alleged bombing of a depot containing depleted uranium missiles would have occurred between 13 and 14 May 2023, immediately denied by local authorities e national. In addition to denial of the Khmelnytskyi city council on an alleged radiation hazard, scientists from the local university had carried out analysis on the territory without encountering dangers for the population. The same opinion was provided by the Khmelnytskyi Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
As reported by colleagues of Voxucrainethere are no iodine deficiencies in Khmelnytskyi pharmacies: according to the information provided by the portal Tabletki.uais available. Colleagues report that, as explained by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, it is possible to take a prophylactic dose of potassium iodide only after an official note from the authorities, which has not happened.
Polish data used by pro-Russians
Some pro-Russian users, such as Piotr Panasiuk, shared on May 15, 2023 a graph regarding the monitoring of the intensity of the radiation of some isotopes in order to sustain a danger for the population of Lublinie, a Polish town not far from the Ukrainian border.
The same graphs were then used by Russian channels to hint at the possibility that grain from Ukraine may be contaminated.
As explained by colleagues from Fakenews.pl, using the same monitoring service, other peaks had been detected in the days leading up to the alleged bombing of a depleted uranium deposit in Ukraine. On May 17, 2023, the National Atomic Energy Agency of Poland publishes a statement to deny the spread of false news about an alleged danger of radiation in Poland.
The denials from Slovakia
Besides Poland, Slovakia has also been brought into play as the country’s closest neighbor to the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi. Following the diffusion of an alleged increase in radiation following the bombing, the official channels of the Slovak Police issued a statement where they belie the voices coming from Russia, telling citizens that no increases in radiation have been recorded and that there is nothing to worry about.
It is proposed in the press release a link directed to the site of the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) where the levels of gamma radiation in the air are reported, finding that in no case increases such as to alarm the population are detected.
In a communicated published on the official social channels, the leaders of the SHMU answer questions from citizens concerned by the spread of false news, denying them altogether. They also cite the data provided by the system of theEUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP) indicating that the values detected are normal.
Social diffusion in Italy
Both the alleged leaflet attributed to the Ukrainian authorities and the Polish graphs were also shared via Facebook in Italy, as we can see from the following post:
RADIOACTIVE CLOUD MOVES TO EUROPE, FOLLOWING THE DESTRUCTION OF DEPLETED URANIUM BULLETS
An increase in background radiation has been recorded in Poland.[2]
Radiation measuring devices installed in Lublin showed a sevenfold jump in bismuth level.
Il Bismuth is a decay product of depleted uranium.
Poles believe that the poisonous cloud comes from Ukraine (Khmelnytsky region), where the ammunition depot of British tank shells was destroyed on May 14 with about 500 million dollars in weapons and shells.[1]
In the regions adjacent to the explosion, a radiation alarm was issued and measures for the population were disseminated.[3-4]
I strongly recommend that you check the products you buy and make sure they don’t come from Eastern Europe.
Grazie Sunak…
Conclusions
The pro-Russian channels, as well as the Kremlin’s institutional ones, are spreading the phantom news of a radioactive cloud coming from Ukraine following the bombing of a depleted uranium missile depot supplied by Westerners to the Ukrainian army. In addition to the denial regarding the presence of that type of weapon, the Ukrainian authorities and those of neighboring countries have denied the alleged increase in radioactivity.
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