Russia traded allegations with the United States and Britain on the United Nations on Tuesday over the potential for a chemical weapons assault in Ukraine, however none produced any proof to again their issues.
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The feedback had been made by diplomats to reporters after Russia raised the problem of an ammonia leak in Ukraine’s besieged northeastern metropolis of Sumy – blaming “Ukrainian radical nationalist groups” – throughout a closed-door UN Security Council assembly. The accusation was rejected by Britain and the United States.
Russia’s deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy stated Russian troops “have never planned or carried out strikes against any Ukrainian facilities where toxic substances are stored or produced.”
“It is clear that the Ukrainian nationalist authorities, encouraged by the Western countries will stop at nothing to intimidate its own people and stage false flag attacks to accuse Russia,” Polyanskiy stated.
It was the third time Russia raised the problem of organic or chemical weapons because it started what it calls a “special military operation” on Feb. 24 to “demilitarise” Ukraine.
The West and Ukraine reject that as a false pretext to invade a democratic nation. “It’s exhausting to not conclude – given their file within the UK, in Russia towards Alexei Navalny, given what we have seen in Syria – that this would possibly nicely be a prelude to the Russians themselves creating some kind of false flag chemical weapons assault, Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward advised reporters.
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield dismissed Russia’s allegations as “ludicrous.” “Our concern is that this is a precursor for Russia’s plans to use chemical weapons,” she stated.
A senior US protection official stated on Tuesday that the United States has not but seen any concrete indications of an imminent Russian chemical or organic weapons assault in Ukraine however is carefully monitoring intelligence.
President Joe Biden stated on Monday, with out offering proof, that Russia’s false allegations that Kyiv has organic and chemical weapons illustrate that Russian President Vladimir Putin is contemplating utilizing them himself in Ukraine.
Polyanskiy likened the scenario in Ukraine to Syria, the place he stated chemical assaults by “terrorist groups” had been blamed on the Russian-backed Syrian authorities.
A joint United Nations and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inquiry discovered the Syrian authorities used the nerve agent sarin and had a number of instances used chlorine as a weapon. It additionally blamed Islamic State for mustard gasoline use.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
