US supplies Ukraine with radiation sensors in light of nuclear bomb threats - report

Published: APRIL 29, 2023 22:39

Updated: APRIL 29, 2023 22:40

A geiger counter measures a radiation level at a site of fire burning in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, outside the village of Rahivka, Ukraine April 5, 2020. Picture taken April 5, 2020. (photo credit: YAROSLAV YEMELIANENKO/REUTERS) — A geiger counter measures a radiation level at a site of fire burning in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, outside the village of Rahivka, Ukraine April 5, 2020. Picture taken April 5, 2020.

(photo credit: YAROSLAV YEMELIANENKO/REUTERS)

Ukraine is collaborating with the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), a unit of atomic experts that's run by the National Nuclear Security Administration, to deploy the radiation sensors.

The United States is wiring Ukraine with sensors that hold the capability to detect radiation bursts - whether that be from a dirty bomb or from a nuclear weapon, according to a Friday report from the New York Times.

The sensors will also reportedly be able to identify the attacker that had used such a weapon in any scenario.

Ukraine plans to use the sensors to find that if, in Ukrainian territory, a radioactive weapon is detonated by Russia, "its atomic signature could be verified," the report states.

Ukraine is collaborating with the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), a unit of atomic experts run by the National Nuclear Security Administration, in order to deploy the radiation sensors. NEST will also be assisting in training personnel and monitoring data.

Previous US assistance to Ukraine and its criticism

Reports from the Council of Foreign Relations and the BBC stated that the US committed nearly $46.6 billion to Ukraine in military aid as of last February. Furthermore, the US Defense Department announced early last month that the US will give Ukraine another $400 million in military equipment.

Artistic rendition of a nuclear blast (credit: PUBLICDOMAINPICTURES.NET)

Earlier this month, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev claimed that the US was forcing support of the Ukrainian "Nazi regime" while also adding that the US was also forcing European support for Ukraine.

Medvedev made these statements in a Twitter post, where he also claimed that Ukraine will disappear because "nobody needs it."

Russia also warned others on Thursday to not test its patience regarding nuclear escalation in its standoff with the West over Ukraine, according to Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, while stressing that Russia does not intend to take the path of nuclear escalation.