Western Officials Warn Russia Could Use a Dirty Bomb as a Pretext

Top officials from the United States, Britain and France sought on Monday to call out what they said was a transparent ploy by Moscow to create a pretext for escalating the war in Ukraine, rejecting claims by the Kremlin that Kyiv was preparing to detonate a dirty bomb on its own territory.

The strikingly public effort to expose the suspected Russian maneuver, which began with a joint statement issued on Sunday by the three allies, reflected a belief in Washington, London and Paris that President Vladimir V. Putin’s commanders may be preparing the ground for a sharp escalation in the war. Read more

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