In a statement, the U.S. Navy announced that “NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush “in the Adriatic Sea on Tuesday.”

The statement said the carrier “currently leads a carrier strike group under NATO command, which Mr. Stoltenberg called ‘a demonstration of US capability and commitment to the Alliance.’ He added: ‘This carrier sends a powerful message of Allied deterrence every day.”’

The USS George H.W. Bush is currently leading Neptune Strike 2022, a NATO deployment “testing readiness to deter and defend across the Euro-Atlantic area.” According to the statement, Neptune Strike “includes over eighty aircraft, fourteen ships, and around 6,000 personnel from twenty-four NATO Allies and partners”—including what will be the two newest NATO members, Finland and Sweden.

Stoltenberg called the carrier “a perfect example of the transatlantic bond—Europe and North America working together in NATO.” He added that the deployment “demonstrates our ability to rapidly reinforce our Allies, and project power across the Alliance.” Stoltenberg said that NATO’s “strength helps to prevent any miscalculation by sending a clear message: NATO will protect and defend every inch of Allied territory.”

With the flames of war still alight in Ukraine, Europe and much of the rest of the world is on edge, anxious that the conflagration there could spiral out of control and engulf the rest of the continent. Some have raised alarm bells at what is perceived as a Russian nuclear threat as Moscow faces increasingly steep losses in Ukraine.

Russia notified several countries over the past week that it has evidence of a Ukrainian false flag “dirty bomb” attack, in which nuclear material would be used in a non-nuclear explosion to spread radiological material. Western leaders, including the secretary general of NATO, emphatically and unequivocally rejected the Russian accusation.

“The Secretary General also addressed recent claims by Moscow that Ukraine is preparing to use a radiological ‘dirty bomb’ on its own territory, emphasizing that ‘NATO Allies reject this transparently false allegation,’ the statement explained.

Stoltenberg said that Russia “must not use false pretexts for further escalation.” He also condemned Iran’s support for Russia’s war effort, saying “no country should be helping the aggressor in an illegal war.”

Caleb Larson is a multimedia journalist and defense writer with the National Interest. A graduate of UCLA, he also holds a Master of Public Policy and lives in Berlin. He covers the intersection of conflict, security, and technology, focusing on American foreign policy, European security, and German society for both print and radio. Follow him on Twitter @calebmlarson

Image: Reuters.