And the US Department of Defense warns that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has increased his troops in eastern Ukraine from 30,000 to 40,000 men.
The Western secret services are certain that the Ukraine war is about to escalate dramatically, that the Russians are making their final preparations for a major attack in the east of the country. Adding to the nervousness are indications that Putin may have used chemical weapons for the first time in this seven-week war.
Doctors from the port city on the Sea of Azov, which had been surrounded for weeks, reported that all the victims had the same symptoms: suffocation, redness of the face, increased blood pressure, dryness, burning in the throat and irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes.
According to Ukrainian reports, the Ukrainian troops entrenched in the Azovsteel steel plant were fired with chemical warfare agents from an unmanned drone. The Moscow-led separatists in Donetsk denied the use of chemical weapons, although they had threatened to do so on Monday: they said the move was intended to “smoke out the moles.” The separatists scorn Ukrainian nationalist combat groups as moles.
Suspected use of phosphorus ammunition
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Malyar announced investigations into whether it “could be phosphorus munitions”. The use of chemical weapons is internationally banned. In Syria, where Russia was able to keep the local dictator Bashar al-Assad in office against the insurgents thanks to a massive military operation, there has been evidence of the use of chemical weapons several times.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows military vehicles moving south in the area of Velyky Burluk, east of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, on April 8, 2022.
(Photo: dpa)
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said her country was reviewing the allegations. “Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict. And we will hold Putin and his regime accountable,” Truss wrote on Twitter.
Her secretary of state, James Heappey, of a possible Western response, said all options are on the table: “I think it’s useful to maintain some ambiguity about exactly what the answer would be.”
Still, Heappey said it was “fairly likely” that Ukraine would win in the East. However, there is a risk of a fight “between two roughly equally strong military powers”.
>> Read here: Fear of using chemical weapons is growing – how an expert assesses the danger
Concerns about a massive escalation also trigger a personal issue. After the unsuccessful cutting off of Russian units so far, the military is now under the command of the notorious General Alexander Dvornikov, who was previously the head of the Southern Military District. With the commander dubbed “General Unscrupulous”, there are growing concerns about a completely ruthless military operation.
With the infamous General Alexander Dwornikov, there are growing concerns about a completely ruthless military operation by Russia in Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
Dvornikov has “experience with the suppression in Chechnya and in Syria,” says Serhiy Sgurez, director of the consulting firm Defense Express. “When there was resistance on the ground, artillery and aerial bombs were used to completely destroy areas where the population was resisting. In the cities where the resistance continued, chemical weapons were used,” said the military expert.
“This commander is a war criminal,” claimed Syrian army deserter Fares al-Bayush. Under him, the Russians are likely to pursue a “scorched earth” strategy in Ukraine as well, meaning massive destruction and many civilian casualties. The general has a lot of experience in this, said Al-Bajusch.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that the newly appointed general was known for his brutality against civilians in Syria. But: “No appointment of a general can undo the fact that Russia has already faced a strategic failure in Ukraine. This general will be just another perpetrator of crimes and brutality against Ukrainian civilians.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed doubts about Europe’s determination to increase the pressure on Russia because of the war atrocities in his country: “Some EU states cannot decide when they will at least noticeably restrict the purchase of Russian energy sources,” he criticized an address to Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday.
In the meantime, it has become known that a planned trip to Kyiv by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has fallen through because he is obviously not welcome there.
In the past few days, Polish President Andrzej Duda had suggested that they travel to the Ukrainian capital together with the heads of state of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, “to send and set a strong sign of common European solidarity with Ukraine ‘ Steinmeier said on Tuesday during his visit to Warsaw. “I was ready for it. But obviously – and I have to take note of this – that was not wanted in Kyiv.”
Vladimir Putin defends the Russian attack
Meanwhile, Kremlin chief Putin tried to justify the attack on Ukraine. He had “no doubts” that the Russian soldiers would win, said the Kremlin chief on Tuesday during a joint visit with the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to the Far Eastern Russian spaceport Vostotnyj.
“As strange as it may sound today, I have always said that we are a triple people: Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.” Putin again claimed that “anti-Russian forces” were planning an attack against Russia. “The only question was when it would start,” asserted Putin, who has since been accused of being a war criminal for the atrocities surrounding Kyiv. He had “no choice” but to act militarily.
More: The war is changing the world again – seven theses on the long-term consequences of the Ukraine conflict