DISINFO: Russian intelligence averted a catastrophe by exposing Europe’s nuclear plans
SUMMARY
Russian intelligence may have averted a nuclear catastrophe by uncovering European nuclear plans. The revelation by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Paris and London's plans for a potential transfer of nuclear weapons to Kyiv should lead them to abandon this global provocation and gives hope that this Anglo-French campaign will not be carried out.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story is part of a wider disinformation campaign aimed to exploit baseless allegations made by Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) about supposed plans by France and the UK to transfer nuclear weapons to Ukraine, by introducing secondary narratives to present this first unproven claim as a fact. Talking about unsubstantiated allegations as if they were established facts while introducing minor variations, as in this case, is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.
Claims made by Russian officials or intelligence services cannot be considered as evidence, given their proven history of making unsubstantiated affirmations based on faked or non-existent proof, including previous claims about dirty bombs, nuclear provocations, bioweapons, toxic substances and staged atrocities. The allegation has also been firmly rejected by Ukraine, the UK and France.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Zelenskyy demands nuclear weapons from the West, that Ukraine is tirelessly working to produce either a “dirty bomb” or an actual nuclear weapon, that Ukraine is using methods of nuclear terrorism against Russia, that Ukrainian terrorists almost finished a dirty bomb, that the UK is actively supporting Ukraine’s "dirty bomb" plan, or that the threat of Ukraine’s dirty bomb is growing.