The UN Security Council will convene for an emergency session on alleged bioweapons in Ukraine on Friday at 4pm BST. Russia had requested the meeting.
“The Russian mission has requested a Security Council meeting on March 11 to discuss US military-biological activities on the territory of Ukraine,” Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
[Verfolgen Sie alle Entwicklungen zum Ukraine-Krieg in unserem Liveblog.]
The background to this is Russia’s accusation that the United States and Ukraine are developing biological weapons. Only on Monday did the Russian Ministry of Defense claim that there was a network of biological laboratories in Ukraine working on behalf of the US Department of Defense. However, international fact-checkers have long since invalidated this claim. The UN also said it knew nothing about weapons of mass destruction allegedly produced in Ukraine.
The United States sees the Russian claims as “propaganda” and a possible excuse to use weapons of mass destruction itself in the Ukraine war. “Russia has made these new false claims. We saw that China supported this propaganda. And that’s why we should be on the lookout for Russia possibly using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine or launching a false flag operation,” US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Jeffrey Prescott told the German Press Agency.
[Alle aktuellen Nachrichten zum russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine bekommen Sie mit der Tagesspiegel-App live auf ihr Handy. Hier für Apple- und Android-Geräte herunterladen.]
The US government has called Russia’s claims about US-made bioweapons in Ukraine a “bunch of lies”. “We have seen indications that they may be using these allegations as a potential pretext,” a senior US defense official said on Thursday (local time). The consequence could be “possibly more aggressive military action” or the “actual use of substances” in Ukraine.
“They (the Russians) not only have the capability, but have a history of using chemical and biological weapons, and right now we should keep our eyes open for that possibility,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki warned . Asked whether the US would send troops to Ukraine in the event of a chemical attack by Russia, Psaki said US President Joe Biden’s stance had not changed. Biden has repeatedly ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine. (dpa)
