© KEYSTONE/AP/Evelyn Hockstein
The United States on Tuesday reported “credible information” on the possibility that Russia will use “chemical agents” in its offensive to take the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, reigniting concerns about the use of prohibited weapons.
While the West and kyiv have been warning Moscow, since the start of its Russian invasion on February 24, against any use of chemical weapons, fears have redoubled in intensity since Monday.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Tuesday that it was “concerned by recent unconfirmed reports of the use of chemical weapons in Mariupol”, a port city besieged by Russian forces in the east. of Ukraine and the scene of heavy fighting.
This institution, to which both Russia and Ukraine belong, refers to “accusations made by both parties concerning the possible misuse of toxic chemicals”.
“Toxic substance”
The Ukrainian Azov regiment, entrenched in Mariupol, said on Monday that a Russian drone had dropped a “toxic substance” there on soldiers and civilians. This accusation has not been confirmed by any independent source, although Ukrainians, British and Americans have said they are trying to “verify” it.
“We’re not in a position to confirm anything, and I don’t think the Ukrainians either,” US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken told reporters on Tuesday.
However, statements by pro-Russian forces controlling the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic (DNR) have fueled concern.
The spokesman for this entity, Edouard Bassourine, assured that his forces had not used “any chemical weapon” in Mariupol. But he mentioned their possible use by Russian troops to drive out Ukrainian fighters defending the Azovstal factory, the city’s large industrial complex, on the coast.
“Respiratory Tract Damage”
A threat that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he took “very seriously”.
And Washington drove the point home.
Just prior to Monday’s charges, the United States had received “credible information that Russian forces may use various riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents that would enhance symptoms to debilitate and immobilize fighters and Ukrainian civilians as part of their aggressive campaign to take Mariupol,” Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, without saying more about the nature of this information.
“We are sharing this information with Ukraine” and “are in direct contact with our partners to determine what is happening now, it is a real concern”, he added.
Washington said it was ready to assist the Ukrainian authorities in their investigation.
At this stage, they are cautious.
“Last night, around midnight, a drone launched an explosive device and three people who were in the area of the Mariupol metallurgical plant, or near it, felt unwell”, then, “injured”, they had to be “hospitalized” without their lives being in danger, reported the Ukrainian governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kirilenko, on the American channel CNN, according to a translation provided by the Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine.
“From the damage to the airways and skin, we understand that it is a chemical substance. But it is too early to say that it is a gas and to draw conclusions. “, he added, saying he wanted to verify “100%” the nature of the product before making more formal accusations.
Beyond the situation in Mariupol, the United States recalled having warned for several weeks that Russia could use these prohibited weapons – in particular by “masking a chemical attack with tear gas”, underlined the spokesperson for the Pentagon. John Kirby.