The West is trying to verify reports that Russia used chemical weapons in an attack on the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, British Foreign Secretary Liz Trass said last night (Monday).
Since invading its neighbor on February 24, Western officials have expressed concern that Russia will take more drastic measures than conventional weapons, including chemical weapons, so that the conflict will continue.
“Reports that Russian forces may have used chemicals in an attack on Mariupol residents. We are working urgently with partners to verify the details,” Trass wrote on Twitter. “Any use of such weapons will escalate severely in this conflict, and Putin and his regime will bear the consequences.”
Ukrainian lawmaker Ivana Klimposh said yesterday that Russia had used “unknown substance” in Mariupol and that people were suffering from respiratory failure. “Probably a chemical weapon!” An article on Twitter.
In a telegram, Assistant Mayor Mariupol wrote that reports of the use of chemical weapons were “not currently approved”: “We are waiting for official information from the military,” Petro Andreyushchenko wrote.
Earlier yesterday, the Ukrainian Moss Battalion claimed that a Russian glider had dropped “toxic substance” on soldiers and civilians in Mariupol. The forces added that people are experiencing respiratory failure and neurological problems.
“Three people have clear signs of chemical poisoning, but no catastrophic consequences,” battalion commander Andrei Biltski later said in a video posted on his telegram channel. He accused the Russians of using chemical weapons during an attack on the city’s largest metal plant.
Mariupol, a strategic port city located along the Moss Sea, has been under siege for weeks and Ukrainian forces are warning of its fall soon.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last night that Washington was aware of reports of a chemical attack in the strategic city, but could not confirm them at this stage: “Including tear gas mixed with chemicals, in Ukraine.”
A senior Donetsk party separatist, Edward Basurin, has previously spoken out about the possibility of using chemical weapons against the southern port. According to a report by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti yesterday, in Surin he said the narrow forces may “turn to chemical forces that will find a way to get the moles out of their holes”. Russia has denied that it has committed war crimes during its military operations in Ukraine.