The United States and Britain said they were investigating reports that Russian forces used chemical weapons in their attack on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine’s “Azov” battalion said three soldiers were wounded by a “toxic substance” in Monday’s attack.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said officials were carrying out an “urgent” investigation into what she described as a “severe escalation” of the war.
The US Department of Defense described the potential use of chemical weapons as “extremely concerning”.
Western countries have also warned that the use of chemical weapons represents a dangerous escalation of the conflict, vowing to take decisive action if Russia launches such attacks.
“Chemical forces”
The “Azov” battalion, which was heavily involved in the hostilities in Mariupol, stated in a telegram that Russian forces had dropped a “toxic substance of unknown origin” during a drone attack on the city’s large Azovstal mineral plant.
The battalion said its fighters sustained minor injuries, including shortness of breath.
The reported incident, which the BBC could not independently verify, comes hours after Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, urged Russia to send “chemical forces” to the besieged city in the southeast of the country.
Basurin told Russian state television that the remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol had holed up in the Azovstal plant, and Russia should besiege it and “reveal what they are secretly planning.”
picture released, Archyde.com
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his speech on Monday evening that any use of chemical weapons would represent a “new phase of terrorism against Ukraine,” and called on Western countries to arm his forces with the weapons necessary to defend his country.
“Unfortunately we are not getting as much as we need to end this war sooner, I am sure we will get almost everything we need, but not only time is wasted, Ukrainian lives are lost, lives that can no longer be returned,” Zelensky added.
British Defense Secretary James Hebe does not rule out a response from Western countries if a chemical attack is confirmed.
“There are some things that are abuses, and the use of chemical weapons will have a response, and all options are on the table for what that response might be,” he said.
US President Joe Biden said last month that NATO would “respond” if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine.
“The nature of the response will depend on the nature of the use of (those weapons),” he said.
Continuing the fight
On Tuesday, Russian forces continue to put pressure on the strategic port city of Mariupol, which Ukrainian soldiers are trying to defend as hard as they do in the east of their country, where Kyiv is awaiting a major attack.
The situation in the devastated Mariupol, which has been besieged by the Russian army for more than 40 days, seems tragic.
“Tens of thousands” of people were killed in this city and “90 percent of homes” were destroyed, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, Mikhailo Podolyak, wrote in a tweet, adding that “Ukrainian soldiers are trapped and trapped.”
picture released, Archyde.com
The fighting in Mariupol has not subsided since the Russian forces invaded Ukraine due to the city’s strategic location
Ukrainian officials said that Ukrainian forces are continuing to resist the Russian army in Mariupol, where one of Ukraine’s most important sea ports is located, amid reports that the battle in this major city is nearing an end.
“The battle in Mariupol continues,” Deputy Mayor Serhiy Orlov told the BBC.
Orlov also denied reports that a Ukrainian marine brigade had spoken in a Facebook post about running out of ammunition while we faced the “last battle”.
He said, “The information about the Navy is completely false, and I do not comment on lies.” “The Russians have temporarily occupied part of the city. Ukrainian soldiers are defending the city center and areas in the south, as well as industrial and other areas,” he added.
The Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Army, Valery Zaluzny, said on his Facebook account that the armed forces still had stable and open lines of communication with soldiers inside Mariupol.
He added that the armed forces “are doing everything possible and impossible in order to preserve lives inside the city and continue to fight the Russian forces.”
Mariupol is located between the regions under the control of pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and the Crimea peninsula of the Russian Federation since 2014, in the south, which makes the control of the city a primary goal of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Officials in the West have warned that the city represents a “largely important outlet” for providing much-needed support as Russia prepares to double or triple its forces in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.
picture released, Archyde.com
Officials indicated that Russia is retooling its combat units and is targeting sending new forces, which may take some time. The West’s economic and military support for Ukraine is crucial to Kiev as it prepares for renewed Russian aggression against the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said tens of thousands of people were killed in Mariupol.
The BBC was not able to verify these numbers, but reports from the region and testimonies from refugees who fled the city spoke of corpses scattered in the streets of Mariupol and the destruction of most of the buildings there.
“The Last Battle”
The 36th Ukrainian Marine Brigade had posted on Facebook a warning that after 27 days of defending the city, it was surrounded by Russian forces, and now it is in danger of “hands off”.
The post, which Orlov described as fake news, contained a promise to the Ukrainians that the soldiers of this marine brigade “did everything possible and impossible” to stop the advance of the Russian army.
The post said: “Today may witness the last battle, as ammunition is running out… It is death for some of us and capture for the rest.”
The publication also recounted a complaint about the lack of support suffered by other parts of the Ukrainian armed forces “because of the aid that was promised and not yet received.”
He added that the Marines had to retreat to the Azovmash plant in the city. It is likely that the fighting is taking place in the city at the present time in the Azovstal industrial area on the coast.
Some experts expressed doubts about that publication, suggesting that the page of the Ukrainian Marines might have been hacked by hackers from the Russian side. However, there are those who believe that this publication is approved and published by the management of the page.
Ukrainian President Zelensky believes that tens of thousands have died in Mariupol
Mariupol has not been calm and has not stopped fighting since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with little humanitarian assistance, and long delays in its evacuations amid reports of civilians being starved or forcibly deported to areas controlled by Russian forces.
Denis Pushilin, the leader of pro-Russian separatists in the city of Donetsk, told Russian media that about 5,000 people may have been killed. Pushilin blamed the Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces have been slowly advancing and seizing more Ukrainian cities over the past few weeks – in contrast to the rest of Ukraine. Russia has begun concentrating its operations around separatist-held areas in the east with withdrawals from other areas near the capital, Kyiv.
Therefore, Ukrainian officials focus on evacuating civilians from eastern cities in anticipation of a renewed Russian offensive in some areas.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed on nine new humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee cities where fighting continues, including Mariupol.
Ukraine is allocating more additional trains to evacuate its citizens from the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russia is focusing its military operation.
Zelensky believes that tens of thousands of pro-Russian separatist forces are being redeployed and mobilized in the eastern region, expecting a renewed Russian offensive soon.