Ukraine: Kyiv mayor says Putin's claims are 'bull****'
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Putin sent fears flying that he would carry out a “false flag” operation after Russia claimed it found evidence of a US biological weapons programme in Ukraine. Experts have warned Russia may be using this as a pretext to justify an attack in Ukraine with its own biological or chemical weapons. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to Nikolay Patrushev from Russia’s Security Council, warning him of the consequences “of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine”, according to the White House.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical weapons expert and fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge, told Express.co.uk that a Russian attack using chemical weapons would be “highly likely” if Putin’s army starts to struggle.
He said: “Chemical weapons broke the four-year siege of Aleppo in 13 days of chlorine barrel bombs in December 16 and I think this had a profound effect on the Russians.
“If you have no morals or scruples you would use chemical weapons all the time as they are morbidly brilliant for fighting in towns and cities.
“Heavier-than-air chlorine sinks underground and kills people in their bunkers or forces above ground where there are captured or shot. They were frequently successful in sieges in Syria after Aleppo.”
And as there have been reports that Russia’s military has hit a wall in Ukraine, Mr de Bretton-Gordon’s warning appears all the more sinister The Ministry of Defence’s intelligence update last week said: “The large Russian column north-west of Kyiv has made little progress in over a week and is suffering continued losses at the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“There has been a notable decrease in overall Russian air activity over Ukraine in recent days, likely due to the unexpected effectiveness and endurance of Ukrainian Air Defence Forces.”
Mr de Bretton-Gordon explained what one of Russia’s chemical weapons attacks might look like.
He told Express.co.uk: “The Russians have an extant chemical weapons programme based around Novichok, the deadly nerve agent which he used to attack Sergei Skripal in my hometown of Salisbury.
“But I think the Russians will use toxic industrial chemicals like chlorine which were used so successfully in Syria.
“They are easily deniable as chlorine is widely available in Ukraine and the Russians have already accused the Ukrainians, US and UK of planning chemical attacks, the so-called False Flags – again straight out of the Syrian playbook.”
Putin also appears to have raised the alarm over a possible nuclear attack after putting his strategic nuclear weapons forces on “high alert”.
Mr de Bretton Gordon has created a pamphlet informing Ukrainian citizens how they could prepare for an attack of this kind as fears of nuclear war continue to soar.
The pamphlet is also designed to help citizens brace themselves for accidents at power stations.
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It comes as Russian troops have captured the Chernobyl power plant, which lost power after shelling from the military.
There were fears once the power was out that it would start to leak radioactive material.
But Ukraine’s electricity operator has confirmed that the power is back on, although the staff at the plant are still reportedly being held hostage.
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