THE GUARDIAN: Western officials say they have ‘good reason’ to be concerned about possible use of non-conventional weapons in Ukraine
Britain fears that Russia could be setting the stage to use a chemical weapon in Ukraine, after Kremlin officials alleged without firm evidence that the US had been supporting a bioweapons programme in the country.
Western officials said at a briefing on Wednesday “we’ve got good reason to be concerned about possible use of non-conventional weapons” by Russia, reflecting the experience of chemical weapon use during the Syrian civil war.
The concern arose partly because Russia’s foreign ministry had been engaged in “setting the scene” by making “false flag claims” about a biological weapons programme operating inside Ukraine.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia had documents showing evidence that the US had supported a bioweapons programme in Ukraine, involving plague, cholera and anthrax. Washington and Kyiv both denied the claims, which the US said were “absurd”. » | Dan Sabbagh, Defence and security editor | Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Children under rubble after Russian airstrike on maternity hospital, says Zelenskiy: Authorities say at least 17 wounded including women in labour as shelling again halts evacuations »
