International organizations should take a look at reports of highly radioactive material being delivered to Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Maria Zakharova voiced concerns that the alleged shipment happened near Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region. Ukraine has been “deliberately stirring up tension” in the area, she said.
According to unconfirmed claims that appeared on social media last week, a ship carrying containers of Californium-252, a synthetic radioactive element, arrived in Odessa on February 19. It was also claimed that the radioactive monitoring system was turned off during the offloading process. Zakharova mentioned reports that the cargo was supplied by the Ohio-based company Frontier Technology Corporation.
The spokeswoman also mentioned allegations that, on February 16, unspecified radioactive material was delivered to the port city of Chernomorsk, near Odessa, “from the territory of one of the European countries.” Allegedly the supposed delivery was not subjected to customs control.
“We call on the appropriate international organizations to pay close attention to this information,” Zakharova said.