Russian MoD: US Planning Provocations to Accuse Russian Forces of Using WMDs in Ukraine
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US is planning provocations to accuse Russian forces of using WMDs in Ukraine, said the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The MoD has information that "Russia will be blamed for utilizing chemical, biological or tactical nuclear weapons, in line with at least three scenarios already developed as a response to Moscow's success in conducting its special military operation," said Igor Kirillov, the chief of the Russian MoD's radiation, chemical, and biological protection forces, Sputnik reported.
The western provocation is likely to target chemical and biological facilities in Kharkiv and Kiev, and possibly the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Moreover, the US State Department has already determined the procedure for the subsequent investigation and appointed officials responsible for its conduct, said Igor Kirillov.
The high probability of the US planning to stage a provocation using chemical weapons in Ukraine is confirmed by the supply of poisonous antidotes to Ukraine, said Igor Kirillov, as he pointed out that “in 2022 alone, at the request of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, more than 220,000 ampoules with atropine were delivered from the United States."
According to the general, this fact testifies to the purposeful preparation of provocations involving chemical nerve agents.
"With regard to chemical incidents, the attributive mechanism of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be activated, which allows fabricating the necessary evidence and appointing the perpetrators at one's own discretion," said Kirillov.
Another one of the scenarios concocted by the West could be the use of weapons of mass destruction in the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, stated the general.
"Open use of WMDs on the battlefield" in case of failure to succeed with conventional weapons… is likely being considered for Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, which have been turned into fortification zones," Kirillov said, while adding that such a scenario is the least likely.
According to the MoD, another of the western provocations presupposed “covert use of WMDs in small volumes" to suppress the troops’ ability to carry out specific operational tasks. This plan was ostensibly considered for implementation by the Pentagon at the Azovstal steel enterprise.
Most of Mariupol, barring Azovstal, has recently come under control of the joint forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Russian military.
However, the aborted Russian assault on the plant put paid to those US plans, said Kirillov.
On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that while Mariupol had come under the control of the Russian armed forces militants remained holed up on the territory of the steel plant.
Putin, in turn, called the assault on Azovstal pointless and ordered it to be canceled, emphasizing the importance of saving the lives of Russian soldiers and officers, while ordering that the Azovstal zone be blocked.
“The staging of the use of weapons of mass destruction is aimed at accusing Russia of resorting to prohibited weapons, which would be followed by the implementation of the so-called "Syrian scenario", whereby a state is subjected to economic and political isolation, as well as exclusion from international organizations, including the UN Security Council,” said Igor Kirillov.
In line with the scenarios, the mechanism for investigating facts of the alleged use of biological weapons by Russia during its special operation in Ukraine would be sanctioned by the UN Secretary General.
"In areas of hostilities where representatives of NATO countries are not allowed, access it is planned to involve representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, provided with means of protection and monitoring equipment," added Kirillov.
