NATO warned Monday Russia must not escalate the conflict in Ukraine with false claims that Kyiv is planning to unleash a so-called “dirty bomb”.
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.
Moscow has alleged that Ukraine is close to developing a dirty bomb; and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted the threat is real.
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“This is not empty information…there are serious suspicions that such things may be planned”, Lavrov said. He further added, “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 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.
Basically, a dirty bomb is a conventional weapon laced with radioactive, biological or chemical materials that are disseminated in an explosion.
