Ukrainian nationalists were preparing provocations with the use of poisonous substances in order to accuse Russia of using chemical weapons, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
He explained that on the night of March 8-9, Ukrainian nationalists brought about 80 tons of ammonia to the urban-type settlement of Zolochiv in the Kharkiv region. Local residents who left the village said that these people taught them how to behave properly during a chemical attack, according to the Ministry of Defense.
“All this testifies to the preparation by Ukrainian nationalists of a provocation using poisonous substances to accuse Russia of allegedly using chemical weapons,” Konashenkov said.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in the Donbass and Ukraine. The President of the country Vladimir Putin called it the goal of protecting the population of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which, according to the head of state, “are subjected to bullying, genocide by the Kiev regime.” Moscow also intends to carry out the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense claims that the strikes are carried out on military facilities in Ukraine and do not affect civilians. Konashenkov said that since the start of the military operation, 2,814 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. Before that, Konashenkov said that NATO bases with nuclear weapons were to appear in Ukraine.