Russia is feared to have unleashed chemical weapons on Mariupol after reports Ukrainians were targeted by a toxic agent dropped from a drone, as Liz Truss vowed to hold Putin to account over the potential attack.
Unverified reports from the besieged southern port city’s Azov regiment said a ‘poisonous substance of unknown origin’ was released on Monday, causing breathing issues, ‘respiratory failure’ and ‘vestibulo-atactic syndrome’.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said her department is working with partners to verify the claims, which pro-Russian separatist forces have denied.
She tweeted: ‘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 the details.
‘Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.’
Armed forces minister James Heappey added today: ‘There are some things that are beyond the pale, and the use of chemical weapons will get a response and all options are on the table for what that response could be.’
President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted last night that the Russians might deploy chemical weapons, although he fell short of saying they had definitely been used in Mariupol.
The alleged attack came just hours after a pro-Russian general in Donbas appeared to promote the idea of using chemical weapons, telling state media it would ‘smoke the Ukrainian moles out of the underground’.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Parliament tweeted to say it has received reports of Russian forces firing ‘nitric acid’ in the Donetsk region as it warned local residents to wear ‘protective face masks soaked in soda solution’. It is not clear if the incidents are linked.
It follows a warning from the Ministry of Defence suggesting that Russia could turn to the use of deadly phosphorus bombs amid attempts to finally break heroic resistance in Mariupol.
While strictly not considered a chemical weapon, the substance burns fiercely and can cause horrendous injuries, and its use on civilians constitutes a war crime.
Mariupol has seen the most intense fighting since the Kremlin launched its attack on Ukraine and has suffered more than 10,000 civilian deaths to date, according to its mayor Vadym Boychenko.
He also warned the toll could rise beyond 20,000 and claimed Russian forces are bringing mobile cremation equipment into the city to dispose of bodies.
