NATO cautions Russia against ‘dirty bomb’ pretext

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.

The head of the Russian army Valery Gerasimov repeated Moscow’s claims in a telephone call with his US counterpart on Monday, the defence ministry said.

The call was the latest in a string of conversations between Russian defence officials and counterparts from NATO countries, during which Moscow said, without providing evidence, that Kyiv was planning to deploy a dirty bomb.

In a statement on Monday, Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said: “According to the information we have, two organisations in Ukraine have specific instructions to create a so-called ‘dirty bomb’. This work is in its final stage”.

At its most basic, a dirty bomb is a conventional weapon laced with radioactive, biological or chemical materials that are disseminated in an explosion.

Moscow’s claims follow weeks of military defeats for Russia in southern and eastern Ukraine, with observers and Kyiv saying the Kremlin is becoming increasingly desperate.

In Kyiv’s latest announcement of territorial gains, the Ukrainian military claims to have pushed Russian forces from several villages in the northeast of the country.

NATO cautions Russia against ‘dirty bomb’ pretext