The U.S. and British governments have expressed concern that Russia may use chemical or biological weapons in an attack on Ukraine and have warned that Russia will bear the consequences.
White House spokeswoman Jen Pasaki said it was possible that Russian false claims about American aid to the production of chemical weapons in Ukraine were a plot to justify the use of such weapons. U.S. Defense Department spokesman John Krabi described the Russian allegations on the issue as “absurd and ridiculous, classic Russian propaganda.”
Yesterday there was no progress in the talks held yesterday in Antalya, Turkey, the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergei Lavrov and Dmitry Kolba. They mainly discussed the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of refugees from the city of Mariupol.
The Ukrainian foreign minister offered a 24-hour ceasefire in all sectors of the fighting, but Lavrov was unwilling to commit to it. Russia, for its part, has submitted its own proposals to the Kyiv government, declaring that it “wants to see Ukraine demilitarized.”
Referring to reports of a bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Lavrov said the building was not used as a hospital but was housed by Ukrainian soldiers. He added that he did not believe the conflict would escalate into a nuclear war and warned the US and Europe that Russia would never be willing to rely on the West.
President Putin held a televised cabinet meeting yesterday and said the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia would end up hurting the West in the form of rising food and energy prices, while Moscow would know how to solve its problems on its own and more strengthened.
“There was no alternative to carrying out the special operation,” Putin said. “Russia is a country that will never compromise its sovereignty in exchange for short-term economic gains. It will ultimately end up strengthening our independence and reliance on ourselves and our sovereignty.”
In response to Western sanctions, the Russian government has banned the import of 200 products from telecoms, pharmaceuticals, cars, agricultural products, electricity and technology from abroad – all until the end of 2022.
At a meeting of the Russian government, the Minister of Agriculture said that your supply of food to the country is guaranteed, while Finance Minister Anton Silwanov announced that Russia has taken measures to restrict the flow of money abroad, and Russia will handle its foreign debts in rubles rather than dollars.
U.S. Vice President Kamela Harris announced during a visit to Warsaw that she was embracing calls for an international investigation into war crimes committed by the Russians in Ukraine.
She expressed support for Poland and NATO. In talks with Polish leaders, she did not comment on the transfer of fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine, a deal that the Americans oppose.
On Wednesday, the administration in Washington warned that the Russians might use chemical weapons and the White House denied that chemical weapons are manufactured in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Ukraine of running chemical-backed chemical and biological weapons laboratories with US support.
In a meeting with the Vice President of the United States, the President of Poland said dramatically: “The Russians are committing war crimes in Ukraine. “Their invasion bears the marks of genocide, genocide, because their intention is to destroy and destroy a people.” Harris travels from Poland to visit Romania.
Reuters and AP agencies report that the number of refugees leaving Ukraine exceeds two million and about half of them have moved to Poland. The flow of refugees continues.