Putin renews ‘dirty bomb’ claims and reviews nuclear exercises

The Biden administration said Russia provided advance notice of the annual drills

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia’s nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, north-western Russia (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)

Nato and Russia’s military have staged separate nuclear exercises as the Russian president again stood firm on the internationally rejected claim that Ukraine plans to set off a radioactive “dirty bomb”.

On the battlefront, Vladimir Putin’s forces targeted more than 40 villages around Ukraine over the past day.