The remnants of a missile with the Russian words “For the children” painted on it lie on the ground after a strike on the Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine on April 8, 2022.
Tue 12 April 2022:
British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has warned that any use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine “will get a response and all options are on the table”.
The stark warning came hours after London said it was trying to verify reports that Moscow used chemical weapons on Monday in Mariupol.
“If they are used at all, then [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin should know that all possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond,” Heappey told Sky News on Tuesday.
“There are some things that are beyond the pale, and the use of chemical weapons will get a response.”
Earlier on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that Britain was working with partners to verify the reports.
“Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account,” she said on Twitter.
Reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol. 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.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) April 11, 2022
US, UK working to investigate unconfirmed reports of chemical weapons use
The US and UK said they are working urgently to investigate unverified reports that Russia used chemical weapons in the southern city of Mariupol.
Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush tweeted that an “unknown substance” had been used in the city, which causes respiratory failure and movement disorders.
“We cannot confirm at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in response. “These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”
“We are working urgently with partners to verify details,’ UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said of the reports. “Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.”
However, Eliot Higgins, who runs the investigative agency Bellingcat with a history both of uncovering Russian involvement in major incidents and of demonstrating the use of chemical weapons in Syria, warned against jumping to conclusions. He quoted scientist Carl Sagan’s maxim, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
In the words of Carl Sagan, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) April 11, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a Monday evening address that the Russian military could use chemical weapons, but did not say that they have already done so during the invasion.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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