Ukraine invites IAEA experts to examine facilities amid Russian claims of ‘dirty bomb’

Ukraine invited experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to examine its facilities over Russian claims that it is developing a "dirty bomb," the country's top diplomat announced.

"In my call with IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, I officially invited the IAEA to urgently send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine which Russia deceitfully claims to be developing a dirty bomb. He agreed. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has always been and remains transparent. We have nothing to hide," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

Russia's claims regarding Ukraine's alleged development of a dirty bomb came during Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu's calls with his counterparts in several Western nations, including U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the U.S., France, and the UK rejected the Russian claims.

The statement said the defense ministers of the three nations spoke with Shoygu at his request, and they all rejected "Russia's transparently false allegations" that Kyiv will use the bomb as a provocation.

A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device is a type of speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives.