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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Sale of uranium by Ukrainian gang reportedly thwarted by security service | Sale of uranium by Ukrainian gang reportedly thwarted by security service |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Ukraine’s security service has said it seized a small quantity of what appeared to be ore-grade uranium from a criminal gang in a peaceful western region. | Ukraine’s security service has said it seized a small quantity of what appeared to be ore-grade uranium from a criminal gang in a peaceful western region. |
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| The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the group had been trying to sell the uranium-238 isotope to an unknown client at the time of their arrest. | The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the group had been trying to sell the uranium-238 isotope to an unknown client at the time of their arrest. |
| The incident occurred on Wednesday, the SBU said, and was immediately reported to the president, Petro Poroshenko. “Four members of a criminal group that was trying to sell the nuclear material were detained with the evidence in hand,” Interfax quoted an SBU statement as saying. | The incident occurred on Wednesday, the SBU said, and was immediately reported to the president, Petro Poroshenko. “Four members of a criminal group that was trying to sell the nuclear material were detained with the evidence in hand,” Interfax quoted an SBU statement as saying. |
| “According to preliminary information, the nuclear matter was uranium-238.” | “According to preliminary information, the nuclear matter was uranium-238.” |
| The U-238 isotope is the most commonly occurring in nature and, while radioactive, it is not fissile so cannot be used directly to create a nuclear chain reaction or explosion. | The U-238 isotope is the most commonly occurring in nature and, while radioactive, it is not fissile so cannot be used directly to create a nuclear chain reaction or explosion. |
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| Ukrainian media has recently been filled with speculation about pro-Russian rebels’ ability to develop a “dirty” bomb that would use conventional explosives to scatter lethal radioactive fallout. | Ukrainian media has recently been filled with speculation about pro-Russian rebels’ ability to develop a “dirty” bomb that would use conventional explosives to scatter lethal radioactive fallout. |
| Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. But it still has nuclear storage facilities and decades-old disposal sites. | Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. But it still has nuclear storage facilities and decades-old disposal sites. |
| Ivano-Frankivsk, the region where the incident took place, lies in the heart of Ukraine’s nationalistic west and is untouched by the 16-month separatist war. | Ivano-Frankivsk, the region where the incident took place, lies in the heart of Ukraine’s nationalistic west and is untouched by the 16-month separatist war. |