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The Russian Federation has urgently ordered a large batch of potassium iodide, a chemical compound used to block a type of radioactive material in case of nuclear accidents, according to a Russian government agency.
The Russian government is planning to purchase at least five million rubles or $86,000 worth of potassium iodide. Russia only allocated four days for the procurement procedure. A copy of the order was published on the website of the State of Procurement of Russia, which stressed that Moscow purchases potassium iodide for the population every year.
The drug potassium iodide is used to protect a person’s thyroid gland from the effects of radioactive iodine, which can increase the risk of thyroid cancer in infants, children and young adults when absorbed at high levels. That being said, potassium iodide does not protect other body parts from the effects of other types of radiation.
Potassium iodide is commonly used in radiation emergencies, such as nuclear power plant accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Russia has previously ordered approximately the same amount of potassium iodide in late December 2020 and early March 2021, per Russian media Kommersant. The difference between the previous orders and the current tender is the urgency.
The recent order for potassium iodide comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin last week threatened to deploy Moscow’s nuclear weapons toward “those who try to blackmail us” in an address to the country.
“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will, without doubt, use all available means to protect Russia and our people,” Putin said in the televised address. “In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed every line,” Putin said. “This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said that the Russian military doctrine, including the rules of the use of nuclear weapons, would extend to Ukrainian territories Russia is looking to annex through sham referendums.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday also warned that Putin is not bluffing. He later challenged the West’s claims that it will stand with Ukraine in case Russia employs nuclear weapons, adding that he believes NATO would unlikely directly intervene in the conflict.
Russian forces are also currently positioned at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which was recently hit by ten S-300 missiles from Moscow’s army.
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