Russia Claims Ukraine Could Use Chemical, Nuclear Materials

Russia's Deputy Foreign Affair Minister Oleg Syromolotov during an interview in Moscow. (Maksim Blinov/AP)

By    |   Wednesday, 13 April 2022 09:20 AM EDT ET

Russia's deputy foreign minister insisted Ukraine could use chemical weapons against President Vladimir Putin's invading troops.

"We consider it a very real threat of chemical terrorism from the fascist nationalists operating under the auspices of the current Kiev regime and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine controlled by them," Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov told RIA Novosti.

"A good example of this is the monstrous production in Bucha."

The deputy minister recalled recent events at a plant in the city of Rubizhnoye, where, he said, militants blew up tanks with nitric acid. According to Syromolotov, about 40,000 tons of highly toxic substances — i.e. including ammonia, sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric acid — remained at the site, state-owned Moscow 24 reported.

Syromolotov stated that the possibility of nuclear material coming to Ukraine from a third country cannot be ruled out, India's Republic reported.

He also warned that Ukrainian authorities are planning chemical provocations in the Donbas, and that a repeat of terrorist strikes against toxic-material-producing companies cannot be negated.

Syromolotov spoke amid reports Russia might have used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops in Mariupol complained of respiratory distress after Russian drones dropped some sort of noxious fumes on the soldiers, prompting fears of a possible chemical attack, The Hill reported.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday night that it was not possible to draw definitive conclusions about whether Russian forces had used chemical weapons in Mariupol.

Zelenskyy said what he called repeated threats by some in Russia to use chemical weapons meant that the West needed to act now to prevent such weapons from being deployed.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the U.S. was not in position to confirm reports of the use of chemical weapons in Mariupol, but was working to determine what actually happened.

It was reported last week that civilians in Mariupol were victims of Russian phosphorus bombs.

"In addition to aviation, tanks, naval, and land artillery, phosphorus bombs have been added," Ukraine Azov Regiment Deputy Cmdr. Svyatoslav Ponomar said of the Russian attack in recent days, Grani.ru reported.

Because white phosphorous has some legitimate uses, the bombs are not considered chemical weapons and are not banned explicitly by international humanitarian law.

However, The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, signed by Russia, the United States, and 123 other countries, bans the use of incendiary weapons in civilian areas.

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Russia's deputy foreign minister insisted Ukraine could use chemical weapons against President Vladimir Putin's invading troops.
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Wednesday, 13 April 2022 09:20 AM
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