The White House has stepped up warnings about the threat of a Russian chemical weapons attack in Ukraine, citing the country’s history of biological warfare in Syria and efforts to sow motives for retaliation.
Moscow has accused Washington and Kyiv of developing chemical weapons in Ukraine, a claim U.S. officials strongly deny and say could form the basis for a chemical attack by Russia on Ukrainians.
“The truth is, Russia is the only country in this equation with a chemical and biological weapons program in violation of international law,” said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, telling reporters Friday to “look no further than Russia’s track record.”
Russia has used chemical weapons in Syria, “and time again, we have warned about this particular pretext,” Bates continued.
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He said the United States joined a United Nations Security Council session to push back against Russia and “further call Putin out … where we have reason to believe they are trying to fabricate another false justification for more violence.”
U.S. officials have shared alleged intelligence reports detailing Kremlin plans throughout the invasion. By publicizing them, Washington has hoped to prevent Russia from using the plots as propaganda.
On Friday, Russia’s U.N. ambassador alleged that Ukraine and the U.S. developed a plot to spread biological weapons using birds, bats, and insects.
President Joe Biden stepped up his warnings to Russia over a chemical weapons attack, promising “severe” retaliation by the U.S. The president was asked about U.S. visibility into the threat and whether he would respond militarily.
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“I’m not going to speak about the intelligence,” Biden said. “But Russia will pay a severe price if it uses chemical weapons.”
