The leader of NATO cautioned Russia on Monday not to worsen the conflict in Ukraine by making untrue accusations that Kiev intends to detonate a fictitious “dirty bomb.”
Following repeated claims from Moscow that Ukraine may use such a weapon, Jens Stoltenberg intervened amid worries that Moscow might use one and place the blame on Kiev.
The leader of the US-led military alliance claimed to have discussed “Russia’s baseless accusation that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory” with Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.
“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.
Moscow has alleged that Ukraine is close to developing a dirty bomb, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted the threat is real.
“This is not empty information… there are serious suspicions that such things may be planned”, Lavrov said, adding: “We have a keen interest in preventing such a terrible provocation.”
But State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is worried that Russia’s claims could be a cover.
“We have seen a pattern in this conflict and the lead-up to this war where the Russians have engaged in mirror imaging — the Russians have accused the Ukrainians, the Russians have accused other countries of what itself was planning. That is our concern”, Price said.
In a phone chat with his US counterpart on Monday, Russian army chief Valery Gerasimov reportedly reiterated Moscow’s claims.
The conversation was the most recent in a line of exchanges between Russian defense officials and their NATO colleagues in which Moscow claimed—without offering any proof—that Kiev intended to use a dirty bomb.
Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov stated in a statement on Monday: “We know that two organizations in Ukraine have been given explicit instructions on how to make a so-called “dirty bomb.” This project is nearing completion “.
A conventional weapon that has been loaded with radioactive, biological, or chemical materials and is dispersed in an explosion is a dirty bomb, to put it simply.
Following weeks of Russian military setbacks in southern and eastern Ukraine, observers and Kiev say Moscow is acting increasingly desperate.
The Ukrainian military claims to have driven Russian forces out of several communities in the country’s northeast in its most recent announcement of territorial gains.
