NATO said Russia should not use this as an excuse to escalate tensions.
Brussels:
Russia should not escalate the conflict in Ukraine with false claims that Kyiv is planning to spread a so-called “dirty bomb”, the head of NATO warned on Monday.
Jens Stoltenberg weighed in after Moscow’s repeated allegations that Ukraine could deploy such a weapon, fearing that Russia might use one and blaming Kyiv.
The head of the US-led military coalition said he had spoken with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace about “Russia’s false claim that Ukraine is likely to use a dirty bomb on its own territory.” preparing.”
“NATO allies reject this allegation. Russia should not use this as an excuse to pursue it. We stand firm in support of 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.
“It’s not empty information… there is serious doubt that such things can be planned,” Lavrov said.
But State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington is concerned that Russia’s claims could be a cover.
“We have seen a pattern in this conflict and in 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 he himself was planning. That’s our concern”, Price said.
Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov reiterated Moscow’s claims in a telephone call with his US counterpart on Monday, the Defense Ministry said.
The call was the latest in a string of talks between Russian defense officials and counterparts from NATO countries, during which Moscow said without 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 organizations in Ukraine have specific instructions to create the so-called ‘Dirty Bomb’. This work is in its final stages.”
In its most basic form, a dirty bomb is a conventional weapon consisting of radioactive, biological or chemical material that expands 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 the latest announcement of Kyiv’s territorial gains, the Ukrainian army claims to have driven Russian forces out of several villages in the country’s northeast.
– Inspection Mission –
“Due to the successful actions, our troops drove the enemy out of the settlements of Karmazinivka, Myasozharivka in the Lugansk region and Novosadov in the Nevsk and Donetsk region,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
Both Kyiv and its allies have fiercely dismissed the bomb’s dirty claims, which follow thinly veiled threats from Moscow of potential nuclear escalation.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba said that the head of the United Nations Atomic Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi “accepted his request to urgently send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine, which Russia claims to have developed a dirty bomb”. does.”
The IAEA confirmed in a statement that it would visit two Ukrainian facilities “in the coming days”.
Britain, the US and France also issued a joint statement rejecting Russia’s claims.
“Our countries make it clear that we reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory,” the statement said.
With the help of Western-supplied heavy weapons, Ukraine has managed to retake its territory from Russia in the east and south, while its power grid has been razed before winter.
As momentum accelerates toward Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced a crackdown in domestic support for his campaign, as a messy military draft and battlefield losses challenged the prospect of a quick conclusion. Was.
The Kremlin meanwhile said on Monday that France and Germany were showing “no willingness” to participate in mediation on the conflict and praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offer to hold talks.
Turkey helped broker a deal that allowed grain exports to resume under the auspices of the United Nations in July, and played a role in a prisoner swap on one of the largest exchanges in September.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)