The use of chemical weapons by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine may cross a “red line” which could trigger an international response, a British defence minister has hinted.
Western officials say they are “seriously concerned” that Putin may deploy non-conventional chemical or biological warfare in Ukraine as he becomes increasingly frustrated with the slow progress of the invasion he launched two weeks ago.
And the White House has warned that false claims by Moscow of a US-funded biological weapons programme in Ukraine was a “false flag” designed to pave the way for chemical attacks.
Defence minister James Heappey today said Putin should “reflect very urgently” on how the international community has responded to other countries’ use of chemical weapons in the past.
His comments were the closest any minister has yet come to spelling out the “red line” which could, if breached, provoke an active Western intervention in the Ukraine war.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Heappey said: “I don’t think it’s helpful to get into any firm commitment right now about where that red line sits, but I think President Putin needs to be very clear that when other countries have used chemical weapons it has caused an international response.
“I think he should reflect very urgently on what has happened to other countries where they have used them.”
He added: “President Putin needs to be clear that the use of chemical weapons is just the most despicable thing that anybody can imagine.
“As horrid as the pictures we are seeing on our TV screens today of an artillery strike against a hospital (are), they are but nothing by comparison to the suffering and devastation that chemical weapons cause.”
Asked later whether chemical weapons use could trigger an international response, Downing Street stressed that Boris Johnson considers Nato a “defensive alliance”.
“It’s obviously the case that we and our allies will continue to monitor the situation closely considering the history of Russia and its proxies using chemical weapons, and the false allegations the Russian government has been making about others developing them,” said a No 10 spokesperson.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said it would be a “grave mistake” for Russia to use chemical weapons, but declined to say what the UK’s response would be.
Asked if the use of such weapons would be a “red line” for the UK, and how it would respond in that situation, Ms Truss told CNN: “We are very concerned about the potential use of chemical weapons.
“Now, of course, we’ve seen Russia use these weapons before in fields of conflict, but that would be a grave mistake on the part of Russia, adding to the grave mistakes that have already been made by Putin.”
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed on Wednesday that invading troops had found documents showing Ukraine’s health ministry recently ordered the destruction of samples of plague, cholera and anthrax.
She suggested this was proof of attempts to hide a military biological programme being developed by the Kyiv government with funding from the US Department of Defence.
The claims have not been verified, and Western officials said on Wednesday that they appeared to be an example of a “false flag” operation designed to justify escalation of violence by Moscow as a purported response to manufactured threats from its enemies.
“I think we’ve got good reason to be concerned about the possible use of non-conventional weapons, partly because we’ve seen what has happened in other theatres – for example in Syria – partly because we see a bit of setting the scene for that in the sort of false-flag claims that are coming out, and some other indications,” said one official.
“It’s a serious concern for us.”
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said: “Russia has a track record of accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating. In December, Russia falsely accused the US of deploying contractors with chemical weapons in Ukraine.
“This is all an obvious ploy by Russia to try to try to justify its further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine.”
Psaki added: “Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern.”
