MOSCOW: Russia must not escalate the conflict in Ukraine with false claims that Kyiv is planning to unleash a so-called “dirty bomb”, the head of Nato has warned.
Jens Stoltenberg weighed in following Moscow’s repeated allegations that Ukraine could deploy such a weapon, sparking fears Russia could use one and blame Kyiv.
The head of the US-led military alliance said he had spoken with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace “about Russia’s false claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory.” “Nato Allies reject this allegation. Russia must not use it as a pretext for escalation. We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Kremlin has alleged that Ukraine is in the “final stages” of developing a dirty bomb. But a senior military official said the United States has no indication Russia has decided to use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
Moscow says forces ‘preparing to work under radioactive contamination’
“The Ukrainians are not building a dirty bomb, nor do we have indications that the Russians have made a decision to employ nuclear, chem, bio” weapons, the US official told journalists on condition of anonymity.
The head of the Russian army Valery Gerasimov repeated Moscow’s claims in a telephone call with his US counterpart earlier on Monday, the defence ministry said.
The call was the latest in a string of conversations between Russian defence officials and...
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