Ukrainian authorities confiscate plutonium at border point

Ukrainian authorities apprehended a man trying to carry radioactive substances out of the country today. The Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry told Rosbalt that Ukrainian border guards found a special 40 kilogram container during a routine inspection of a Sitroen van. The container held approximately 1 kilogram of plutonium-239.

Unofficial sources are reporting that the plutonium belonged to a former employee of the USSR Joint Chiefs of Staff. Deputy director of the Ukrainian nuclear research institute Vasily Slisenko said plutonium-239 is used mainly for making bombs. 'I can't imagine where one could steal it today. The material is regularly monitored in the Ukraine by the International Atomic Energy Agency,' he said.