Investigation of possible use of chemical weapons in Mariupol by Russian troops

The Azov Battalion, a far-right group under the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, accused Russian troops on Monday of using chemical weapons during an attack on the port city of Mariupol.

Around the same time, the president of the Parliamentary Commission for Integration of Ukraine into the EU, Ivanna Klympush, said on Monday Russian troops used “an unknown substance in Mariupol. The victims experienced respiratory failure. Most likely, these are chemical weapons. This is the red line beyond which the world must destroy the economy of despotism.”

After this information was released, the Western powers expressed concern and announced that they will investigate whether Vladimir Putin's forces actually used such an arsenal.

“The Russian occupying forces have used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in the city of Mariupol, which was launched from an enemy drone,” the far-right military group denounced, according to Ukrainian agency UNIAN.

The regiment also reported that the victims would have respiratory failure, dizziness, vomiting and apparently problems with the nervous system, as reported by The Kyiv Independent.

After the first reports, the Pentagon also spoke about this alleged chemical weapons attack: “We are aware of reports that Russian forces deployed a possible chemical ammunition in Mariupol, Ukraine. We cannot confirm this at this time and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

“These reports, if true, are very worrying and reflect the concerns we have had about the possibility of Russia using various anti-riot agents, including tear gas mixed with chemicals, in Ukraine,” the Pentagon added in a brief statement.

“It is reported that Russian forces could have used chemical agents in an attack on the population of Mariupol. We are working urgently with our partners to verify the details. Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime accountable,” British Foreign Minister Liz Truss added on her social media.

This alert from the Azov Battalion and the Ukrainian representative in Brussels comes in a context in which the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has previously alerted the high probability that the Russian Army will use chemical weapons during its attacks.

Eduard Basurin, press secretary of the military command of the Donetsk People's Republic, warned that Ukrainian troops defending Mariupol must be encircled at the Azovstal plant and attacked with chemical weapons. Denys Pushylin, leader of the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic, said that at least 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers are surrounded near the plant.

“Right now we need to figure out how to block this plant, find all the entry and exit points; in theory, this can be done. And then, I think, we would have to ask the chemical specialists, who will find a way to get those rats out of their holes,” said Basurin.

On Monday morning, British defense intelligence warned that Russian troops are very likely to use phosphorus ammunition in the besieged Mariupol.

However, Mariupol Mayor's adviser Petro Andriushchenko argued that advice on how to protect yourself from these attacks is not relevant as most of the city's buildings have been destroyed and water and sanitation supplies have also been affected.

The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic, allied with Russia, assured on Monday that Russian forces have taken control of the port of the city of Mariupol, a key locality because of its location, on the Sea of Azov, according to Pushylin.

“As for the port of Mariupol, it is now under our control,” he told the first Russian public television channel. Hours earlier, the pro-Russian leader had called for “intensifying the progress of the liberation operation” of the Donbas.

He argued this need with the “complex situation of the people”, as well as with the “provocative actions of the Kiev regime”, which he held responsible for last Friday's missile attack on Kramatorsk railway station, a city controlled by Ukraine, in which 57 people were killed, according to the latest data.

On the situation in Mariupol, in the south of the Donetsk region, where fierce fighting has been going on for several weeks, the pro-Russian leader noted that “several thousand” of Ukrainian nationalists remain in the area of the Azovstal steel mill in the suburbs of the city.

“According to our calculations, together with Azovstal there are still nationalists, several thousand. The most frequent figure in the war parties ranges from 1,500 to 3,000 people,” he added.

The separatist leader pointed out that there are many underground passages in the factory, “so there is no point in taking this objective by storm.”

“We could lose a large number of men, while our enemy would have practically no losses. Therefore, right now we must understand how to block the factory, locate all the exits and entrances, what is possible,” he said.

The pro-Russian said that after cutting the escape routes for the defenders of Azovstal, the Donetsk militias would look for ways to “push moles out of their burrows”.

Russian troops continue their attacks in the Donetsk region, as well as on Mariupol and Kharki v, reaching the 47th day since the start of the invasion of Ukraine , in which 183 minors have died, according to local sources.

The Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine and one of the hardest hit by the Russian army, has been bombed 66 times in the past 24 hours in attacks that have resulted in at least eleven deaths and fourteen injuries.

“According to our information, the enemy has almost completed its preparation for an assault in the east. The attack will begin very soon,” said the spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, on Monday.

For his part, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denis Shmigal, denounced that Russian troops seek to cause as many casualties as possible among the Ukrainian population. “To end the war, genocide and suffering of Ukrainians, we need more support from the United States, especially with increased military assistance and increased sanctions,” the prime minister said.

(With information from Europa Press and EFE)

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