State Department Press Briefing Underway Shortly

US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price is shortly due to deliver a press conference from the Department of State.

• Livestream: https://www.state.gov/todays-briefing-schedule/
• The briefing comes after a weekend of escalating tensions between Russia and NATO when Russian Defence Secretary called counterparts from the US, France, UK, and Turkey warning that Ukraine was planning to use a dirty bomb.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba over the weekend and issued a statement rejecting “Russian Defense Minister Shoygu’s transparently false allegations...”
• A joint statement from NATO defence ministers read: “…defence ministers of each of our countries spoke to Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu at his request. Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory... We further reject any pretext for escalation by Russia.”
• Speculation has persisted throughout the day that Russia may be spreading misinformation about Ukrainian intentions to provide justification for a further escalation of attacks on critical Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.