What happened in Mariupol? The UK is trying to verify reports of the possible use of chemical weapons in Ukraine by Russian forces on Monday (April 11th) as the strategic port city has been under siege for more than a month. “We are urgently working with our partners to verify the information”, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Twitter. Any use of such weapons “would constitute a brutal escalation in this conflict and we will hold the [président russe Vladimir] Putin and his diet”she added.
Previously, the Ukrainian Azov regiment, entrenched in Mariupol, claimed that a Russian drone had dropped a “toxic substance” on soldiers and civilians in Mariupol, stating that several people there suffered from respiratory and neurological problems. According to Andrii Biletsky, the founder of the Azov battalion, three people were poisoned there by an unknown toxic substance, he says in a video posted on Telegram: “Three people show clear signs of chemical warfare poisoning but without catastrophic consequences.”
This information has not been independently verified. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, pointed out that “information about the chemical attack is not currently confirmed”adding that “details and clarifications” will be given later and that “we are awaiting official information from the military”.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Washington was aware of reports of a chemical attack in the strategic city, but could not confirm it. “This information, if true, is very concerning and reflects the concerns we have had about the possibility of Russia using various riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”did he declare.
The representative of the separatist army in Donetsk, Edouard Bassurin, quoted by the Russian agency Ria Novosti, affirmed for his part that the troops besieging Mariupol could resort to “chemical troops who will find a way to get the moles out of their hole”in reference to the entrenched Ukrainian soldiers. “We take [ces déclarations] dead earnest”President Volodymyr Zelensky also commented in a video. I want to remind world leaders that a possible use of chemical weapons by the Russian military has already been discussed. And that already meant that it was necessary to react to Russian aggression more harshly and quickly.”