MELTDOWN

Gang Tried to Smuggle Radioactive Material Out of Russia, FSB Claims

They were allegedly working on behalf of a Ukrainian, according to the security service.

Russia’s FSB said Friday it had arrested five people who were attempting to purchase radioactive material and smuggle it out of the country, according to state media. The security service claimed the gang were acting at the direction of “a citizen of Ukraine” when they tried to buy a kilogram of Cesium-137 for $3.5 million. The FSB said the material was intended to be used to stage an incident designed to discredit Russia. The report comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alleged that according to Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow is considering conducting a “terrorist attack with radiation leakage” at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine.