Armored vehicles of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 31, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
WASHINGTON – Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said the Pentagon is closely following reports Monday night of a possible Russian chemical weapons attack on the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Should it be determined that Russia has used chemical weapons in the strategically important city, it would mean a major escalation of the conflict and directly challenge NATO to action.
“We are aware of reports on social media claiming that Russian forces have potentially stationed chemical munitions in Mariupol, Ukraine,” Kirby said Monday. “We cannot confirm this at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
“If these reports are true, they are deeply concerning and reflect our concerns we had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine,” Kirby said.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said her government was “urgently” working to verify the details of an alleged attack.
The original report was in the form of a telegram sent by the Azov Regiment, an ultra-nationalist branch of Ukraine’s National Guard. The Azov embassy said Russian forces used “a poisonous substance of unknown origin.”
“Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime accountable.” Truss wrote on Twitter.
US officials have been warning for several days that the Russian army will almost certainly continue to commit what they call “atrocities” as it redoubles its attacks in Ukraine’s eastern regions.
“Russian leaders have a history of showing the brutality with which they conduct and pursue their operations,” Kirby told reporters Monday, citing Russia’s alleged use of chemical weapons during the Syrian civil war.
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