Russia’s false accusation that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons is a “clear sign” that a desperate Vladimir Putin is considering using them himself, Joe Biden said.
The US President said Putin has “his back against the wall and now he’s talking about new false flags he’s putting up, including claims that we in America have both biological and chemical weapons in Europe – just not true.” I guarantee you that,” Biden said at an event Monday.
“They also suggest that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That’s a clear sign that he’s considering using both. He has used chemical weapons in the past and we should watch out for what comes next.”
Putin “knows that NATO’s united front will have serious consequences,” he said, without specifying what actions the alliance would take.
The comments echo previous statements by officials in Washington and allied countries who have accused Russia of disseminating an unsubstantiated claim that Ukraine has a biological weapons program as a possible prelude to potential biological or chemical attacks of its own.
Biden spoke after the Pentagon said it had seen “clear evidence” that Russian forces were committing war crimes and was helping to gather evidence. Last week, the US President said he considers Putin a “war criminal” as well as a “murderous dictator” and “thug” and that comments from Russia’s State Department were “unworthy of a state figure of such high rank.” risked breaking off US-Russian relations.
The United Nations International Court of Justice has already ordered Moscow to halt its invasion, and a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has opened a war crimes investigation.
On Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again urged direct talks with Putin, saying: “Without this meeting, it is impossible to fully understand what they are ready to do to end the war.”
He also said his country would never bow to ultimatums from Russia and that cities under direct attack, including the capital Kyiv, Mariupol and Kharkiv, would not accept the Russian occupation.
For other developments:
Biden spoke to leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy on Monday as part of his efforts to maintain a united front on Moscow amid signs of rifts within the EU about how far he is on imposing sanctions on Russian oil and gas should go.
Earlier in the day, Biden warned the US business community about intelligence agencies pointing to a growing Russian cyber threat and urged companies to prepare defenses “immediately”. “It’s part of Russia’s playbook” in response to sanctions, he said
Nearly 10,000 Russian soldiers may already have been killed in the war in Ukraine and more than 16,000 wounded, according to Defense Ministry figures reported in a pro-Kremlin tabloid, Komsomolskaya Pravda. Previously, the official death toll stood at 498. The newspaper later released a statement claiming it had been hacked.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, announced new plans to develop an “EU Rapid Deployment Capacity” that could allow the bloc to quickly deploy up to 5,000 troops to different types of crises. He insisted that no “European army” would be created.
An Associated Press reporter has told the story of desperate conditions in the besieged city of Mariupol after spending more than two weeks there and being chased by Russian soldiers amid shelling.
In Kyiv, a brand-new shopping center was destroyed in a missile attack that killed at least eight people, the largest attack on the capital to date. Here contemporary witnesses tell their story of the destruction of Retroville.
Russia’s defense ministry has accused Kyiv of planning a chemical weapons attack against its own people without providing evidence, accusing Moscow of using chemical weapons in the invasion of Ukraine that began almost a month ago.
Earlier this month, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, warning him of the consequences of “any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.” The White House has not specified what the consequences will be.
Biden also said Russia used a hypersonic missile to destroy a weapons depot on Saturday “because it’s the only thing they can pull through with absolute certainty.”
A government official clarified Monday night that Biden was confirming Russia’s deployment of such an advanced missile, but noted that the impact of the attack was unknown. A senior US defense official had previously raised questions about the legitimacy of the Russian account.
Russia’s invasion has largely stalled, failing to capture any major city but massively destroying residential areas.
With Reuters