Russian 'dirty bomb' allegations are 'transparently false' says Stoltenberg

Russian allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a "dirty bomb" are "transparently false", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday (October 25).

The head of the military alliance made the comments on a trip to a U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in the Adriatic Sea, and before the U.N. Security Council meeting at which Russia raised the issue.

"NATO allies reject this transparently false allegation," Stoltenberg told a news conference on board the USS George H. W. Bush.

"Russia often accuses others for what they intend to do themselves. We have seen this pattern before from Syria to Ukraine. Russia must not use false pretexts for further escalation," he added.

The allegations follow hints from Moscow that it might be forced to use a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the dirty bomb allegation showed Russia was planning such an attack and seeking to blame Kyiv.

Stoltenberg echoed comments from the United States warning Russia of "severe consequences" for any use of nuclear weapons.

The visit to the ship coincided with a NATO deployment called "Neptune Strike" which the alliance describes as a "peacetime vigilance" mission including more than 80 aircraft, 14 ships and some 6,000 personnel.

Recently, U.S. Navy F18s had flown from the ship to Lithuania and joined Canadian aircraft for patrols over Romania, Stoltenberg said.