Berlin Was Russia now also using chemical weapons in the devastated port city of Mariupol? Reports from Monday evening suggest such an act. The Ukrainian Azov regiment reported on a Telegram channel that an unknown substance had been dropped over the city from a drone. According to the Azov information, the people hit suffered from breathing difficulties and movement disorders.
However, the public Ukrainian TV broadcaster Suspilne reported that there was no confirmation from official bodies. Military sources considered the probability of a chemical weapons attack by the Russian side to be “very high”. The broadcaster is trying to get confirmation from the military or the secret service.
According to Western military experts, the situation in Mariupol is getting worse. Russian forces pushed back the Ukrainian defenders. The Ukrainians have entrenched themselves in the Azovstal steelworks, among other places. Military spokesman for the pro-Russian Donetsk separatists, Eduard Bassurin, said capturing the underground fortifications at the factory site would be too costly. Therefore one should rely on chemically armed troops.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to this threat in his nightly video address, but did not confirm the reports from Mariupol. “We take this extremely seriously.”
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A possible chemical weapons attack should prompt foreign states to react even more harshly to Russian aggression, Zelensky said. From the start of the war, Russia had been warned by the West of serious consequences if it used chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
After the reports from Mariupol, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wrote on Twitter that they were working with partners to verify details. Any use of such weapons would be an escalation for which Russian President Vladimir Putin and his leadership would be held accountable.
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A spokesman for the US Department of Defense said there was no confirmation of the use of chemical weapons. If the reports are correct, that would be very worrying. It is consistent with fears that Russia may use chemical means, such as tear gas mixed with other chemicals, to suppress large crowds in Ukraine, said spokesman John Kirby.
4350 civilians brought to safety
Mariupol has been the hardest hit city in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Zelensky said Monday night his country lacked the weapons to liberate the city from Russian forces. “If we had planes and enough heavy armored vehicles and artillery, we could do it.”
Meanwhile, other regions of Ukraine are also suffering attacks by Russian forces. The Ukrainian authorities in Kharkiv warn the population of landmines that have been dropped on the northeastern city. On Monday, security forces cordoned off an area east of Kharkiv to clear up a number of small explosive devices scattered on residential streets.
The head of Ukraine’s demining unit, Lt. Col. Nikolai Ovcharuk, said the mines were plastic PTM-1M time-detonated mines and were widely used by Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
Cluster mines such as the PTM-1M mines are banned under the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines because of the danger they pose to civilians. Reuters could not independently confirm which mines were in Kharkiv.
In the city of Borodyanka, Ukrainian rescue workers found seven bodies under the rubble of destroyed houses. Russian troops had withdrawn there at the end of March – since the emergency services had been looking for missing residents.
A total of around 4,350 civilians were brought to safety on Monday. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk in Kyiv. About 3,850 people arrived in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia in their own cars, including 550 refugees from Mariupol.
An evacuation from the region by bus that was actually agreed with the Russian side did not work out. Vereshchuk blamed the Russian army for this. Another 500 people were evacuated from cities in the east. A Russian offensive and heavy fighting are expected there in the coming days.
With agency material
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