NATO has accused Russia of using «false pretexts» to escalate the war of aggression against Ukraine, after accusing Ukrainian authorities of preparing a ‘dirty bomb’ on its territory.
Speaking from the US aircraft carrier ‘George H. W. Bush’ in the Mediterranean Sea, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned of Moscow’s maneuvers insisting that behind them is the intention to increase pressure against Ukraine, eight months into the Russian invasion.
«Russia now falsely claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a radiological «dirty bomb» on its own territory. NATO allies reject this patently false accusation,» the former Norwegian prime minister said, following statements by allied nuclear powers the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
In this regard, he has warned Russia that it has the eyes of the whole world on them so «it should not use false pretexts for further escalation» in the conflict in Ukraine. «Russia often accuses others of what they intend to do themselves. We have seen this pattern before from Syria to Ukraine,» he reminded.
Asked about the nuclear threat posed by the Kremlin, Stoltenberg has insisted that the use of these weapons «will change the nature of the conflict» and «will have serious consequences» for Russia. «The most important thing now is to convey a clear message or show that, of course, they should not use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine,» he has pointed out.