Russia could launch chemical weapons provocations in the wake of the Ukraine war, the secretary general warned at a news conference on Tuesday. of NATO Jens Stoltenberg echoing the fears of Western states.
The head of NATO stated that Russia “makes absurd allegations for biological laboratories and chemical weapons “in Ukraine. “This is just another lie,” he said, noting that Russia had initially stated that it had no plans to invade Ukraine. “We are concerned that Moscow could carry out a provocation, possibly involving chemical weapons,” Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg clarified that any use of chemical weapons is “completely unacceptable.”
He reiterated that NATO allies have received unprecedented sanctions against Russia, trained the Ukrainian army for many years, and handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces significant equipment, including anti-tank, air defense, unmanned aerial vehicles and ammunition. “NATO allies will continue to help Ukraine,” he added, either with military equipment or with economic and humanitarian aid.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’s military involvement are creating a new security reality “on the European continent,” Stoltenberg said, stressing that the Allies must adapt NATO’s military position to this new reality.
“Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Defense Ministers will discuss concrete measures to strengthen the Alliance’s security in the long run in all areas,” he said. of NATO. This, he explained, essentially means more ground forces, especially in the eastern part of the Alliance, in a state of readiness and more equipment. Significant air and naval reinforcements, missile defense, cyber defense and more military exercises will also be discussed.
Asked if a NATO Summit would be held soon in Brussels, Stoltenberg did not rule it out, but declined to go into details.
The United States has previously expressed similar concerns, with the White House saying nations should be on the lookout for Russia “possibly using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine or setting up provocations using them.”
His fear that Vladimir Putin will use chemical weapons in Ukraine was expressed by the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. In an interview with Sky News tonight, Johnson said that what the Russians had heard about the Ukrainians ‘or Americans’ intention to carry out a chemical attack in Donbas came “directly from their manual.”
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