The British Defense Ministry warned that Russia may be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in a “false flag” operation

The British Defense Ministry today warned of a possible “false flag” operation by Russia to justify the use of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

“Russia could possibly be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in a 'false flag' operation,” the Ministry of Defense said in a post on the social network Twitter. “Such an operation could take the form of a feigned attack, a simulated 'discovery' of agents or ammunition, or fabricated evidence of alleged Ukrainian planning to use such weapons.”

Russian accusations that Ukraine intends to use chemical and biological weapons continue, he says, and reiterates that they have “seen no evidence to support these allegations.”

Western officials had already warned of their “serious concern” that Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons in Kiev, and say it could be triggered a “completely horrible” attack on the Ukrainian capital when Russian forces attempt to overcome the logistical problems that have apparently affected troops heading to Kiev, as reported by The Guardian.

A Western official told the British media: “I think we have good reason to be concerned about the possible use of unconventional weapons, partly because of what we have seen happen in other scenarios. For example, what we have seen in Syria, partly because we have seen a little preparation for that in the false flag claims that are emerging, and other indications as well. So it's a serious concern for us.”

The Biden government also publicly warned that Russia may seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, after the White House rejected Russian claims of illegal development of chemical weapons in the country it has invaded.

The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, last week accused Ukraine, without evidence, of having chemical and biological weapons laboratories on its territory, supported by the US. White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Russia's claim “absurd” and said it could be part of Russia's attempt to lay the groundwork for the use of such weapons of mass destruction against Ukraine.

“All this is an obvious ploy by Russia to try to justify its new premeditated, unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” Psaki tweeted on Wednesday. “Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has apparently supported this propaganda, we should all be vigilant about the possibility of Russia using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or creating a false flag operation using them.”

The United States has warned for months about Russian “false flag” operations to create a pretext for the invasion. Wednesday's warning suggested that Russia could try to create a pretext for escalating the two-week conflict that has seen the Russian offensive slowed down by stronger than expected Ukrainian defenders, but not stopped.

For years, the international community has assessed that Russia has used chemical weapons before to carry out assassination attempts against Putin's enemies such as Alexey Navalny and former spy Sergei Skripal. Russia also supports the Assad government in Syria, which has used chemical weapons against its people in a decade-long civil war.

When asked about the claims by a Russian journalist, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric, said: “At this time we have no information to confirm these reports or these allegations about these types of laboratories.”

“Our colleagues at the World Health Organization, who have been working with the governments of Ukraine, said they are not aware of any activity by the Ukrainian government that is incompatible with its international treaty obligations, including on chemical weapons or biological weapons,” he added. Dujarric.

“The Kremlin is intentionally spreading outright lies that the United States and Ukraine are conducting chemical and biological weapons activities in Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

“Russia is inventing false pretenses in an attempt to justify its own horrible actions in Ukraine.”

(With information from AFP and AP)

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