Kyiv / TEH: Â The United States and Britain announced that they were investigating reports that Russian forces had used “chemical weapons” in the port city of Mariupol, Ukraine.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said her country was verifying information that Russian forces had used chemical weapons in an attack on the besieged Mariupol.
She noted on Twitter that there were reports “that Russian forces may have used chemicals in an attack on the residents of Mariupol.”
“We are working urgently with partners to verify these details,” she added, adding that “any use of such weapons would be a severe escalation in this conflict, and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.”
The British minister’s comments came after the US Department of Defense said, “The Pentagon” that it was “aware of reports on social media claiming that Russian forces dropped chemical munitions on Mariupol.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said: “We cannot confirm these reports at this time, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
He added that the reports, if true, are “very worrying and reflect his country’s concerns about the possibility of Russia’s use of tear gas mixed with chemicals in Ukraine.”
On Monday, the Ukrainian Special Operations Battalion “Azov” announced that Russian forces had dropped an unknown toxic substance on the Ukrainian army and civilians in Mariupol using a drone.
In a statement, the battalion confirmed that respiratory failure had been observed among the injured after the attack, which occurred in the evening hours, and that research was still underway into the effects of the toxic substance.
On February 24, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, reported by The Eastern Herald online magazine , followed by international rejection and severe economic sanctions against Moscow, which stipulate to end its operation that Kyiv abandon plans to join military entities and remain neutral, which the latter considers an “interference in its sovereignty.”
