After six weeks of heavy bombing in the besieged city of Mariupol, there are now allegations that chemical weapons have been used, says correspondent Peter Smith The United Kingdom has warned that “all options are on the table” if allegations that Russian forces used chemical weapons in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol turn out to be true. The soldiers were stunned and could not breathe after a “poisonous substance of unknown origin” from a Russian drone fell on them, said the Azov Battalion – a paramilitary group with links to neo-Nazism. An Azov fighter in the besieged city told ITV News that they were treating the wounded and trying to get samples from the city to check exactly what suspicious gas was used – but at the moment they could not overtake Russian forces. They believe it was a chemical attack and reported seeing white smoke being released from canisters that fell from drones. The soldiers reportedly suffered fainting, respiratory problems and blackouts. The United Kingdom has said it is “working urgently” to verify the allegations, but Armed Forces Secretary James Hippie has threatened to take action against Russian President Vladimir Putin if confirmed, warning him not to “test” Britain. Mr Heappey told ITV News: “It’s worth it to be ambiguous because I do not think that what you’re going to do is tell Vladimir Putin that the consequence of using nuclear weapons is exactly that, so he can decide whether or not it’s worth it. the uses. “He should know that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the President of the United States, the President of France and other allies have talked about this and that all options are really on the table. “And if I were in his position, I would not try us to see what that means.” For expert analysis of the biggest news, listen to the What You Need To Know podcast Britain is increasingly worried that Russia could use white phosphorus ammunition to bomb the city. White phosphorus burns at extremely high temperatures and is often used to illuminate conflict zones or to cover them with smoke. It can cause horrible burns, respiratory damage, infection, shock and organ failure, according to Human Rights Watch. Three weeks ago, ITV News filmed Russians dropping what some experts believed could be white phosphorus bombs on Irpin, a city on the outskirts of the capital, Kiev. Other key developments:
Nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children, 4.8 million, have fled their homes since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to UNICEF. President Putin says there is “no doubt” that Russia will “achieve our goals” in Ukraine Fighting in eastern Ukraine will “intensify” over the next two to three weeks as Russia continues to focus its efforts in the region, according to the UK Department of Defense. More than 10,000 civilians killed in Mariupol – but actual death toll could double, says city mayor US President Joe Biden urges Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to escalate Russian oil market as US and other nations try to cut Moscow’s energy revenues Officials find “evidence of execution” and reports of mass graves in Buzova after Russian troops withdraw, backing up allegations of Russian war crimes A strike has hit a cooking school near the airport in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, on Tuesday, destroying the building and damaging others nearby. Ukrainian officials say a fugitive Ukrainian oligarch who is a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been arrested in a special operation
Meanwhile, President Volodomyr Zelenskyy announced that oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, a close ally of Putin in Ukraine, had been arrested by Ukrainian law enforcement. Medvedchuk, a former leader of the pro-Russian opposition party, was arrested in a special operation carried out by the SBU. The fugitive was being held under house arrest before the start of the war more than six weeks ago and disappeared shortly after the outbreak of the conflict. Viktor Medvedev speaks to Vladimir Putin during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. Credit: AP It comes as President Putin has said “there is no doubt that we will achieve our goals” in Ukraine and that the Russian economy has successfully resisted new Western sanctions, which he called “blitz”. Speaking on his first known trip out of Moscow since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine at the Vostochny space shuttle in Russia’s Far East, President Putin said Russian military action in Ukraine was aimed at “ensuring its security.” Russia itself. “ President Putin, who said on Tuesday that peace talks with Ukraine had reached a stalemate, confirmed his claim that Russia’s “special military operation” was aimed at protecting people in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine. Moscow. On Tuesday, President Putin said peace talks with Ukraine had reached a stalemate. The Russian leader claimed that Ukraine had become an “anti-Russian bridgehead” where “sprouts of nationalism and neo-Nazism were being cultivated” – something that Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected as a cover for aggression. Putin said “we had no choice but to take action” and told the West that “common sense must prevail, adding:” They will not be able to close all the doors and windows. “ Allegations of a chemical attack in Mariupol came as the city’s mayor, Vadim Boichenko, said the bodies were now “paved in the streets” of the southeastern port city, as Russian troops killed more than 10,000 civilians in their unsuccessful fight for to arrest her. He believes the actual death toll could exceed 20,000. There is increasingly limited information available from the city of Mariupol, where 10,000 Credit: AP are said to have been killed. Mr Boychenko also gave new details to Ukrainian officials’ claims that Russian forces were using “mobile crematoria” in Mariupol to remove the bodies of victims of the attacks. “Mobile crematoria have arrived in the form of trucks: You open it and there is a pipe inside and these bodies are burning,” he said. Russian forces transported many bodies to a huge mall where there is storage space and refrigerators, the mayor added. Mr Boychenko has accused Russian forces of blocking weeks of humanitarian convoys to the southeastern port city, in part to cover up the devastation suffered during the six-week war, which means information remains limited. in the city. A video from the interior of Mariupol shows rows in rows of destroyed buildings and deserted streets covered with rubble and debris. In another, Russian tanks waving the “Z” on the side appear to be moving near the port of Mariupol, while explosions and gunfire are heard nearby. Mariupol is expected to fall into Russian hands today, as Ukrainian forces said Monday was their “last stop” for the city. The 36th Marine Brigade, which has been defending the southern port city of Ukraine for the past six weeks, has announced that it has run out of ammunition and is under siege, ITV News correspondent Peter Smith said. Western officials believe Russia wants to bring down Mariupol to free troops for the battle in the Donbass region but also to create a route north for Kremlin forces as they try to form a tweezers movement for Ukrainian defenders in the east. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) says Russian forces continue to withdraw from Belarus so they can redeploy troops to support operations in the east, where fighting “will intensify over the next two to three weeks. “Russia continues to refocus its efforts there.” The Foreign Ministry said the Kremlin’s attacks remained focused on Donetsk and Luhansk to the east, but there was further fighting around the southern cities of Kherson, Mykolaiv and a “renewed push” towards the eastern city of Kramatorsk – where more than 50 people were killed. and hundreds more were injured in a rocket attack on a train station where civilians were evacuated last week.
