Washington – Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned on Sunday that an attack by chemical or biological weapons from Russia on Ukraine would provoke a “major reaction” from the United States, as well as from allies and global partners.
“If a chemical or biological weapon were used, you would see a significant reaction not only from the United States but also from the world community,” Austin said in an interview with Face the Nation. “I don’t want to speculate on exactly what would change our calculation. I don’t think participating in hypothetical is useful here either, but that’s a very serious step and, as you’ve heard from our president, we won’t take it lightly.”
Twenty-five days after Russia launched its own invasion of UkraineRussian forces are fighting in their efforts to take over the capital of Kyiv, but have continued their brutal bombing of civilians.
In the port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials have accused Russia bombing an art school where 400 people were sheltered, marking the second attack on a public building where civilians were sheltered in less than a week. Russian forces hit a theater in Mariupol where it is believed there were more than 1,300 people last week.
Outside of other major cities, Russia’s progress has stalled to a large extent, though it has growing concern among Ukrainian and American officials that Moscow could use chemical or biological weapons in the ongoing war.
The White House said last week that Russia could do it intensify your attack using these weapons or claiming that Ukraine used chemical or biological weapons in a “false flag” attack as a pretext for further violence.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have accused the United States of working on secret biological and chemical programs within Ukraine, a claim the White House has dismissed as absurd and part of a ploy by Russia to try to justify its attack on Ukraine. Ukraine.
Austin said the United States has in the past seen Russia “raise issues and create a pretext that if they did something in the battlefield, they could blame someone else, be it Ukrainians, us, NATO.”
“That could be what we’re seeing today,” he said.
Austin said the United States expects Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine to continue as a result of its stalled campaign and an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to restore momentum.
“Today they are not being effective in terms of their maneuvering forces on the ground. They are basically stagnant,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then [Putin] moving their forces to a wooden crusher “.
Austin congratulated the Ukrainian people on their defense of the country against Russia, saying they had shown “significant determination” and were effective in using the weapons and equipment provided by the United States.
“What we have seen in the past is that the Ukrainians have counterattacked, they have used their initiative to move things on the battlefield and they have presented some major problems for the Russians,” he said.
The Biden administration has provided Ukraine with $ 2 billion in security assistance since 2021, and Congress approved $ 13.6 billion in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine and its European allies earlier this month. the East.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done so urged the US to help create a no-fly zone over his country’s skies, a move that President Biden has opposed because of concerns that it would further escalate tensions with Russia.
Austin, however, said that the US will work with allies and partners to help create the conditions for Ukraine to achieve this. equipment such as Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile systems and “ensure that they have the ability to protect their skies in the future.”
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