The White House sharply rebutted Russia’s accusations Sunday that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory and then blame Moscow, writes the NBC NEWS.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Security Council called Russia’s allegations of a possible false flag operation by Ukraine “transparently false” and accused Moscow of making the claim to lay the groundwork for its own escalation of the war.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made the claim of Ukraine’s possibly using a dirty bomb in phone calls with several Western defense ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Shoigu is using the calls to spin “stories about the so-called ‘dirty’ nuclear bomb”.