President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in his latest address seized on an apparent Russian threat to use chemical weapons against the remaining defenders of Mariupol, as they prepare for what he called a “new stage of terror against Ukraine.”
Mr. Zelensky’s comments came after Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Kremlin-backed, separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, said on Russian television that Russia should bring in “chemical forces” to use in Mariupol, the besieged southern city.
Referring to those remarks, Mr. Zelensky said in his latest video address, “We take this as seriously as possible.”
A Ukrainian unit in Mariupol claimed on social media that Russian invaders had used chemical weapons there and Lesia Vasylenko, a member of Ukraine’s Parliament, made a similar charge. Those reports could not be independently confirmed. Read more
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