Ukrainian forces and officials have accused Russia of dropping chemical weapons on the port city of Mariupol, causing troops and civilians alike to develop respiratory illnesses.
“Russian occupation forces used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against Ukrainian military and civilians in the city of Mariupol, which was dropped from an enemy [unmanned aerial vehicle],” the Azov Battalion, a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, posted to Telegram on Monday.
“The victims have respiratory failure, vestibulo-atactic syndrome.”
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The Pentagon could not confirm the social media reports that Russian forces had deployed a potential chemical weapon, but said it is aware of the claims.
“These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine,” press secretary John Kirby said in a statement, adding that the Defense Department will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Ukrainian officials also reported the attack over social media.
“ATTENTION! Chemical weapons are used against Ukrainian defenders in #Mariupol! russia openly crosses all boundaries of humanity and openly declares it,” Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, wrote on Twitter. The reports, if accurate, would mark an escalation in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since it began on Feb. 24.
Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday that Russia's bloody offensive in Ukraine would continue until its goals are fulfilled and insisted the campaign was going as planned, despite a major withdrawal in the face of stiff Ukrainian opposition and significant losses.
Russian troops, thwarted in their push toward Ukraine's capital, are now focusing on the eastern Donbas region, where Ukraine said Tuesday it was investigating a claim that a poisonous substance had been dropped on its troops.
It was not clear what the substance might be, but Western officials warned that any use of chemical weapons by Russia would be a serious escalation of the already devastating war. Russia invaded on Feb. 24, with the goal, according to Western officials, of taking Kyiv, toppling the government and installing a Moscow-friendly regime.
In the six weeks since, Russia’s ground advance stalled, its forces lost potentially thousands of fighters and the military stands accused of killing civilians and other atrocities.
Putin insisted Tuesday that his invasion aimed to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed rebels and to “ensure Russia’s own security.”
He said Russia “had no other choice” but to launch what he calls a “special military operation,” and vowed it would “continue until its full completion and the fulfillment of the tasks that have been set.”