Citing diplomatic cables and other sources, Politico claimed on Thursday that the US has hastened the deployment of a modernized B61-12 nuclear weapon at NATO bases in Europe, with a target date of the end of 2022 instead of 2023.

The delivery of the enhanced version of the bomb was initially scheduled for the spring of 2023, according to the publication. The deployment is now scheduled for December of this year, US officials reportedly informed NATO members in a confidential conference in Brussels in October. Although the Pentagon has refrained from making any specific connections to current events, the decision was made in light of the Ukraine conflict, according to the report.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder spoke to Politico and said "While we aren’t going to discuss details of our nuclear arsenal, modernization of US B61 nuclear weapons has been underway for years, and plans to safely and responsibly swap out older weapons for the upgraded B61-12 versions is part of a long-planned and scheduled modernization effort. It is in no way linked to current events in Ukraine and was not sped up in any way."

According to what experts told Poitico, the US decision to expedite the deployment of the nuclear weapon is more directly aimed toward Europe rather than Russia.

One expert explained that it is "a way to assure the allies when they are feeling particularly threatened by Russia."

The modernized B61-12 atomic bomb's initial manufacturing sample was reportedly delivered to the Department of Defense by the US military-industrial complex in December 2021. Since 1968, the B61 aerial bomb has undergone several upgrades. The upgraded bomb can be dropped from the F-15, F-16, F-35, Tornado, as well as the B2 and B-21 strategic bombers.

Russia to raise Ukraine 'dirty bomb' at the UN

Russia called on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to do everything possible to prevent Ukraine from carrying out its "dirty bomb" provocation, according to Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN.

Russia delivered a letter to the United Nationson October 24 outlining its claim regarding Kiev, and diplomats said Moscow planned to raise the issue with the Security Council at a secret meeting today. 

"We will regard the use of the `dirty bomb’ by the Kiev regime as an act of nuclear terrorism," Nebenzya warned.

According to information received by Russia’s Defense Ministry, "This provocation may be carried out with the support of the Western countries" and Russia urges "the Western countries to exert their influence on the regime in Kiev to abandon its dangerous plans threatening international peace and security," Nebenzya said.

"Amidst the anti-Russian propaganda campaign, we would like to stress that the Russian Federation has not intended, nor intends to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine," he emphasized.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, chief of the Russian Armed Forces' Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Troops, stated during a press conference on Monday that the Russian Defense Ministry has all forces and means ready to carry out tasks in the face of radioactive contamination.

Read more: Kiev plans on using 'dirty bomb' to blame Russia