White House press secretary Jen Psaki stopped short of committing the United States to a specific retaliatory plan of action should Russia carry out a chemical attack in Ukraine, but she said that any “escalatory” action by Russian President Vladimir Putin would not go unanswered.
Psaki fielded multiple questions during Thursday’s press briefing about her statement from the previous evening condemning “Russia’s false claims” that the U.S. was producing chemical weapons in Ukraine.
KREMLIN CONCOCTED DISINFORMATION ON UKRAINIAN WMD PROGRAMS AND BIOWEAPONS LAB, US INTELLIGENCE SAYS
“Now that Russia has made these false claims,” she said, “we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern.”
Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022
“The main issue that prompted my Twitter thread yesterday was that Russia has a history also of inventing outright lies like this, which is the suggestion that the United States has a chemical and biological weapons program or that Ukraine does that they’re operating,” Psaki told reporters during Thursday’s press briefing.
“Russia is the country that has a chemical and biological weapons program, so the objective was to make clear the inaccuracy of the information, the misinformation they’re trying to put out, and make clear to the world that they not only have the capacity, they have a history of using chemical and biological weapons, and that, in this moment, we should have our eyes open for that possibility,” she said.
Psaki faced numerous follow-ups about how the U.S. would respond to a chemical attack carried out by the Russians, and while she noted that all actions taken by Russia have not gone “unanswered” by the U.S., she declined to discuss “hypotheticals.”
“I’m not going to get into red lines from here,” she continued. “What we’re saying right now is they have the capacity and the capabilities. I’m also not going to get into intelligence, but the president’s intention of sending U.S. military to fight in Ukraine against Russia has not changed.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
You can watch Thursday’s briefing in full below.
