German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called Russian allegations that Ukraine is preparing a "dirty bomb" untenable, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin late Monday.
Scholz spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by telephone, Hebestreit confirmed.
"The chancellor agreed with the Ukrainian president that the independent investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency initiated by the Ukrainian side would remove any doubts about this," Hebestreit added.
Russia has alleged that Kiev is planning to detonate a radioactive bomb to discredit Moscow. The Western nuclear powers and Ukraine have dismissed the claim. A "dirty bomb" consists of radioactive material released by conventional explosives. Unlike a nuclear bomb, there is no nuclear chain reaction.
According to Hebestreit, Scholz told Zelensky that Germany would not let up in providing concrete political, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine and in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, "including arms deliveries."
In addition, Scholz and Zelensky called for the implementation and extension of the grain agreement under the aegis of the United Nations not to be jeopardized in order not to further burden the global food situation. Russia recently suspended this agreement.
Zelensky said he thanked Scholz again for delivery of the Iris-T air defence system by Germany, which he said had already proven itself very well.
In his Monday evening video speech, Zelensky said that other ways in which Germany could support Ukraine had been discussed. The main focus was on the renewal of the Ukrainian infrastructure after its destruction by Russian air raids.
