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"Don’t alarm people." The Air Force has commented on the SBU’s statement regarding the discovery of a missile containing radioactive materials

"Don’t alarm people." The Air Force has commented on the SBU’s statement regarding the discovery of a missile containing radioactive materials

21 May 2026, 14:00

"Don’t alarm people." The Air Force has commented on the SBU’s statement regarding the discovery of a missile containing radioactive materials — A rocket containing radioactive materials

Yuriy Ignat, Head of the Communications Directorate of the Ukrainian Air Force, explained that the presence of radioactive elements in the debris of the Russian R-60 missile, as reported by the Security Service, is to be expected.

He made these comments during a live broadcast on Novyny.LIVE.

According to Ignat, he was “surprised himself” when he read the news from the SBU. He explained that the R-60 air-to-air missile has a core made of a standard alloy containing depleted uranium.

“There’s no need to scare people here. […] It seems everything has already been explained and detailed on social media,” the spokesperson added.

The day before, the SBU reported that elevated radiation levels had been detected on the wreckage of a Russian R-60 air-to-air missile, which was used to attack the Chernihiv region on the night of 7 April.

During radiation surveys in the immediate vicinity of the fragments of the drone, which had been fitted with a missile, a gamma radiation level of 12 μSv/h was recorded, which significantly exceeds the natural radiation background and poses a threat to human health.

The SBU has opened a criminal investigation into war crimes and urged Ukrainians to exercise extreme caution if they come across UAV debris, missiles or other munitions “given the toxicity and radioactivity of depleted uranium”.

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