I see how isotope fingerprinting can be a big issue in the plan. No way that the world at large wouldn't recognise this as a false flag attack if they got a 99%

I see how isotope fingerprinting can be a big issue in the plan. No way that the world at large wouldn't recognise this as a false flag attack if they got a 99% match with known Russian military nukes. That said, I don't see why people domestically wouldn't buy it. They could spin any number of stories, such as that a corrupt/kidnapped military/government official allowed the weapon to escape Russian custody and detonation control. Or they could just lie. Some fraction of people will believe it, either because they are not nuclear experts, or because it's repeated so often they'll start believing it eventually.