DIU refutes Russian fake about Ukraine's "spreading" of radioactive substances in Syria

Olena Shevchenko

The special services of the aggressor state of Russia have resorted to another attempt at a malicious information attack against Ukraine. Information is being spread in Syria about the sale of alleged military property “purchased” from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Points of attention

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense denies the Russian fake news about the alleged sale of military property, including a container with radioactive substances, to Syria.
Russia's attempt to manipulate global nuclear security through disinformation tactics demands a resolute response from the international community.
The container with radioactive substances, purportedly plutonium and uranium, was poorly fabricated in a classic Russian propaganda style with several inconsistencies.

DIU refutes Russia's fake news about Ukraine and Syria

The Russian-made “military property” is a cheaply assembled container containing capsules marked PU.94244U (plutonium) and U.92 (uranium). The contents of the capsules are unknown.

This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate.

The container and its contents were made, in the classic Russian propaganda style, in a haphazard manner: illegible Cyrillic text was used, blue insulating tape was used to attach the logo of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and gross errors were made in the labeling.

In particular, one of the capsules is marked “PU 94244U” — a rare isotope of plutonium, the content of which in the entire Earth’s crust is a few grams. In addition, for some unknown reason, a mechanical wristwatch is located in the container.

The Russians are also trying to sell a Soviet-style military chemical reconnaissance device (VCHR), allegedly "purchased from representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, who were engaged in radiation, chemical, and biological protection in Syria."

The video contains a mark of relevance of the “trade offer” — an inscription in Arabic: “03/13/2025, Thursday.”

This is not the first attempt to spread such disinformation: in 2023, a post about an “intercepted Ukrainian container with plutonium” was published on the private blog of the user “smoug1985.” At that time, the Russians claimed that they had managed to thwart an attempt by US intelligence services to accuse the Russian Federation of using chemical weapons in Syria.

Thus, Moscow has been preparing the ground for this information provocation since 2023, reusing old props.

This is an attempt by the Kremlin to inflict a reputational blow on Ukraine in front of the new authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine's international partners, and the IAEA. The aggressor state continues to manipulate the topic of global nuclear security, to which the free world must react harshly.