Russia claims Ukraine was preparing provocations in Transnistria

Deputy Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova stated this.

According to her, "containers with radioactive substances" labeled in English were delivered to the Chornomorsk port on February 16 to bypass customs inspection from the territory of one of the European countries.

Then, on February 19, the radioactive chemical substance Californium-252 was "brought" to Odesa. This element is used to check the integrity of nuclear reactors at NPPs. She stated that during this "delivery" the radioactive monitoring system was "disabled". Zakharova claims that these  "substances" are “supplied” to Ukraine by one of the American companies.

"Russia’s MoD drew attention to the fact that the Kyiv regime was preparing provocations in order to accuse Russian forces of carrying out indiscriminate strikes on radioactively dangerous objects, which can lead to the leakage of radioactive substances and contamination of the area," the statement reads.

Russia also accused Ukraine of using grain corridors for transporting dangerous substances and said that Ukraine was allegedly preparing for the conflict’s escalation.

The Moldovan government denied Zakharova’s statement. 

"State institutions are monitoring the situation and do not confirm the information spread by Russia," the message reads.