There have been “reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol”, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has tweeted. “We are working urgently with partners to verify details. Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.”
A Pentagon spokesperson said the reports were not confirmed, but they reflected U.S. concerns about Russia’s “potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”
This comes shortly after fighters from Ukraine’s Azov regiment defending Mariupol said on Monday that Russian troops “used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against Ukrainian forces and civilians” in the besieged southern port city.
Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to the mayor of Mariupol, wrote on his Telegram channel that reports about a chemical attack had not been confirmed and that he expected to provide clarifications later.
The Pentagon said the US was aware of “social media reports” about the claim of Russian forces using a potential chemical munition in Mariupol, but also made clear it was unconfirmed.
US defence department spokesman John Kirby said: “We cannot confirm at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky touched on this issue in his video address late on Monday.
“One of the mouthpieces of the Russian occupiers stated that they could use chemical weapons against the defenders of Mariupol. We treat this with the utmost seriousness.” Zelensky gave no further details.
Western and Ukrainian officials have been accusing Moscow of planning to use chemical weapons in Ukraine going back to early in the conflict, yet no such attack has been substantiated.
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