President Joe Biden promised a “severe” retaliation for any chemical attacks carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Biden’s comments marked a significant escalation in rhetoric from the White House in regard to Russia’s false claims regarding chemical weapons.
WHITE HOUSE NOT DRAWING ‘RED LINES’ ON RUSSIAN AGGRESSION IN UKRAINE
“I’m not going to speak about the intelligence,” Biden told reporters when asked about the subject Friday. “But Russia would pay a severe price if they use chemical weapons.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki faced numerous questions Thursday after she had warned the international community to be on the lookout for Russian forces using chemical weapons against Ukrainian civilians. That statement came in response to “false claims” circulated by Russian state media about U.S. chemical weapons facilities in Ukraine.
“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.”
Psaki notably declined to comment on how or if the U.S. would respond to a hypothetical chemical attack.
“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.”
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You can watch Biden’s comments in full below.
