Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar expressed “surprise” at a Russian official’s “unfounded and baseless” allegations of Pakistan sharing information on the development of nuclear weapons with Ukraine, just days after Moscow alleged that Kyiv is planning to launch a ‘dirty bomb.’
Iftikhar said that the claims are “entirely inconsistent” with the long-standing Russia-Pakistan friendship and sought clarification from the Kremlin.
Pakistan’s rebuke comes in response to Igor Morozov, a member of the Russian Defence Committee of the Federation Council, claiming during a press conference last week that “Ukrainian specialists went to Pakistan and received a delegation from Pakistan to discuss technologies for the creation of nuclear weapons.”
Morozov did not provide any evidence to support his allegations.
"Ukrainian specialists traveled to Pakistan and received a delegation from Pakistan to discuss technologies for creating nuclear weapons," Russian Senator: pic.twitter.com/eL8Baby2s1
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) October 31, 2022
However, there are reports of Ukraine receiving defence equipment from Pakistan.
Eurasian Times has reported that Pakistani arms dealer DMI Associates is in talks with the Bulgarian Defense Industry Group to facilitate Ukraine’s access to Pakistani defence equipment. Similarly, Ukrainian company FORMAG has reached out to Pakistani company Bluelines Cargo Private Limited to secure gloves for the Ukrainian armed forces.
A Pakistani-origin businessman, Mohammad Zahoor, also allegedly gifted two fighter jets to help Ukraine counter Russia’s aggression.
Another report by Geopolitica claims that Ukraine has been using Pakistan-manufactured 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation artillery shells. These claims have been corroborated by the fact that the equipment was delivered in British steel boxes as well as the fact that they use of LIU-4 type fuses, which are said to be “unique” to defence contractor Pakistan Ordinance Factories’s Soviet-style 122mm artillery.
#Ukraine: The massive needs of the Ukrainian Army when it comes to artillery are being met from some unorthodox sources- Ukrainian artillerymen were spotted using 122mm HE artillery projectiles made by Pakistani Ordnance Factories (POF) 🇵🇰. pic.twitter.com/Uu8X1zT6wi
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) August 30, 2022
Furthermore, media reports suggest that British forces use Pakistan’s Noor Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi to deliver and transport military equipment to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also lauded the “big potential” of Ukraine-Pakistan ties in August and said that Kyiv is expecting “greater solidarity” from Islamabad.
Pakistan and Ukraine deepened their military cooperation in counterterrorism and intelligence-sharing in 2021, as a result of which Pakistan has secured over 320 T-80UD tanks from Ukraine.
Moreover, Pakistan has maintained an overtly neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. It has refrained from condemning Russia’s actions but also raised concerns about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
Apart from the allegations against Pakistan, Morozov also claimed that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in talks with the United States (US) and the United Kingdom to secure nuclear bombs.
Morozov warned that US President Joe Biden has the power to use low-power nuclear ammunition without Congressional approval.
Just concluded an online-briefing for foreign media on Russian aggression against Ukraine, Moscow’s ‘dirty bomb’ disinfo campaign, global food security, and other issues of regional and global importance. We keep the world posted and will not let Russian propaganda succeed. pic.twitter.com/KVm5R1qW89
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 25, 2022
He also raised concern that Ukraine can create a dirty bomb and declared that “the threat is real,” but noted that Kyiv’s ambitions are restricted by its lack of financing.
Dirty bombs can spread radioactive shockwaves to up to 1,500 kilometres.
In separate phone calls with his Indian and Chinese counterparts – Rajnath Singh and Wei Fenghe – last week, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu accused Ukraine of “possible provocations” with the use of a dirty bomb.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, too, accused Kyiv building a dirty bomb during a meeting with the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States’ Security and Intelligence agencies.
Likewise, at a closed-door United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, presented ‘evidence’ of Ukraine preparing for a dirty bomb attack.
In addition, Russian Chief of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops Igor Kirillov claimed in a statement in October that Ukraine is planning to fire a dirty bomb and has nearly completed building one at two of its nuclear facilities.
In a joint statement on Sunday, however, the US, the UK, and France rejected Russia’s “transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory,” calling it a “pretext for escalation” by Russia.