Russia isn't backing off its 'dirty bomb' talk, with even Putin himself now peddling baseless claims Ukraine is going to set one off

• Russian President Putin himself baselessly accused Ukraine of preparing to detonate a dirty bomb.
• His remarks Wednesday followed others by Kremlin leadership making the claims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself is getting in on Russia's baseless "dirty bomb" claims.

Putin joined Kremlin leadership in accusing Ukraine of preparing to detonate a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory, a claim Ukraine and the West have called "absurd."

During a virtual conference with heads of security agencies from the Commonwealth of Independent States organization — a collection of former Soviet states — Putin on Wednesday accused the US of using Ukraine as a "testing ground" for military experiments and strengthening Kyiv's arsenal of heavy weapons.

"There are also plans to use the so-called dirty bomb for provocations," Putin said during the conference, according to a Kremlin translation of the meeting.

Putin showed no evidence for either of the claims.

A dirty bomb is a radiological dispersal device that uses conventional explosives to spread radioactive material. The weapon is unlikely to cause mass casualties, but would be used terrorize civilians and distribute radioactive contamination.

Putin's remarks appear to be his first related to the dirty bomb claims, which other Russian officials have made — without citing any evidence — in recent days.

Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu previously alleged that Ukraine was planning to detonate a dirty bomb on its own territory; military experts and analysts have the accusations are an attempt by Russia to try and cause panic and siphon off support for Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials and Western states have strongly rejected Russia's accusations, with Kyiv's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calling Moscow's claims "absurd" and "dangerous."

"We neither have any 'dirty bombs', nor plan to acquire any," Kuleba said on Sunday. "Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves."

Echoing these sentiments, Ukraine's state energy operator Energoatom on Tuesday accused Russian military personnel of doing "secret" work that could result in the construction of a dirty bomb at the captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

During a Tuesday briefing, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that although he couldn't confirm Russia's activities at the nuclear plant, the US shares the concerns brought up by Energoatom.

"We're always concerned when we hear these — this type of patently false — these specious claims come from the Russians, the fact that Defense Minister Shoigu and others are now making these false claims of a so-called dirty bomb use in Ukraine," Price said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday that the US has not yet seen any indication of Russian plans to detonate a nuclear weapon on dirty bomb. He added that "there would be consequences for Russia" if it uses either weapon.