Russia Planning To Use ‘Biological And Chemical Weapons’, Biden Says
Topics: Ukraine, Joe Biden, Russia, Vladimir Putin
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Ukraine, Joe Biden, Russia, Vladimir Putin
US President Joe Biden has warned that Russia may use chemical and biological weapons in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposition of a 'compromise for everyone' including the West, Russia and Ukraine, Moscow has claimed that Kyiv – Ukraine's capital city – has biological and chemical weapons in its possession.
Biden has since reflected that this allegation could be a sign that Russia itself is thinking of utilising such weaponry.
Biden: Putin's back against the wall, may use chemical weapons #washington #joebiden #vladimirputin #ukrainecrisis #ukrainewar #ukrainerussi pic.twitter.com/W4uiH1LunK
— KameraOne (@kamera_one) March 22, 2022
Biden stated that Moscow's suggestion that Ukraine has such equipment and also that the US has similar weapons in Europe is 'simply not true'.
He continued: "That's a clear sign he [Putin] is considering using both of those.
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"He's already used chemical weapons in the past, and we should be careful about what's to come. He knows there'll be sever consequences because of the united NATO's front, but the point is real."
The president concluded that Putin's 'back is against the wall'.
Biden's denial of the US having any chemical or biological weapons in Europe follows accusations made by Russia that the country was 'experimenting with bat coronavirus samples' in Ukraine.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov claimed that the ministry had obtained documents that detailed the US's setting up of biolaboratories.
Konashenkov said the US planned to 'establish a mechanism for the stealthy spread of deadly pathogens'.
Let's be clear: Ukraine does not have a biological weapons program. There are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories – not near Russia’s border, not anywhere.
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) March 18, 2022
It is Russia that has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law.
An emergency meeting was subsequently called by Moscow to follow on from talks held a week earlier about the alleged biological materials in Ukraine, as per the United Nations.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that he had proof and signed evidence of a transaction from the US to Ukraine to fund the biological laboratories.
The claims fall under the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972, which 'prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons'.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called the allegations a 'tirade of bizarre conspiracy theories'.
Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations, stated that the the UN is not aware of any bioweapons in Ukraine.
However, she concluded: "The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs stands ready to support any procedures under the Biological Weapons Convention that States Parties may decide to use."
This morning, @UN_Disarmament High Representative @INakamitsu briefed at the @UN Security Council meeting on Threats to International Peace and Security, regarding the situation in #Ukraine.
— ODA (@UN_Disarmament) March 11, 2022
Full remarks available here👉https://t.co/E80JdUi2JJ. https://t.co/MsRFjwZ9OB pic.twitter.com/6zvy57rLsN
Alongside Biden's warning, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also expressed concern over the possibility of Russia deploying chemical and biological weapons after Moscow accused Kyiv of having plans to use them.
Johnson stated: "The stuff that you're hearing about chemical weapons is straight out of their playbook. They start saying that there are chemical weapons that have been stored by their opponents or by the Americans.
"And so when they themselves deploy chemical weapons, as I fear they may, they have a sort of maskirovka – a fake story – ready to go."
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information