Russia, without evidence, says Ukraine making nuclear "dirty bomb"

Service members of the Ukrainian armed forces are seen atop of a tank at their positions outside the settlement of Makariv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, near Zhytomyr, Ukraine March 4, 2022. REUTERS/Maksim Levin

(Reuters) - Russian media cited an unnamed source on Sunday as saying that Ukraine was close to building a plutonium-based "dirty bomb" nuclear weapon, although the source cited no evidence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, with the aim to "demilitarise" and "denazify" its pro-Western neighbour and prevent Kyiv from joining NATO.