Accusations fly from all sides. The UN Security Council will meet urgently on Friday at 6:00 pm (Paris time) over the alleged production of biological weapons in Ukraine at the request of Moscow, whose authority in the field of chemical weapons is being questioned. and London during the session on Syria.
Russia accuses Washington and Kyiv of operating bioweapons labs in Ukraine, which the two capitals deny. In 2018, Moscow already accused the United States of secretly conducting biological experiments in a laboratory in Georgia, another former Soviet republic that, like Ukraine, is seeking to join NATO and the European Union.
Moscow fears a chemical attack
At the Security Council’s monthly meeting on the use of chemical weapons in Syria – a case still open and still plagued by a lack of information from Damascus condemned by the UN – Washington and London mentioned Ukraine. Since Wednesday, the US and UK have said that Russia may use chemical weapons in Ukraine.
“Russia has repeatedly spread disinformation about Syria’s repeated use of chemical weapons,” US Deputy Ambassador Richard Mills said. “The recent spate of lies from Russia in an attempt to justify a deliberate and unjustified war against Ukraine should make it clear once and for all that Russia cannot be trusted when it talks about the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” he said.
denial of Zelensky
For ten days, “Russia continues its aggressive war against Ukraine, besieging cities, indiscriminately killing civilians, forcing millions of people to flee in search of safety,” said his British counterpart James Cariuki. “The parallels to Russian actions in Syria are clear,” and “the comparison also extends to chemical weapons, as we see the familiar specter of Russian disinformation looming in Ukraine” about it, he added.
When questioned, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday that he “has no information (…) about their future use” in Ukraine. “That would be illegal and a serious violation of international law,” he said.
Access to this content has been blocked to respect your choice of consent
I AGREE
More information on the cookie policy page.
In an address to the nation on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ironically denied any development of chemical weapons in his country: “Now what, are you going to dechemicalize Ukraine? According to Zelensky, the laboratories “since the Soviet Union” have been engaged in “ordinary science, not military equipment.” “I am the father of two children. Chemical weapons have not been developed in my country,” he said.