Poland’s President has warned Vladimir Putin that if he uses chemical weapons in Ukraine then NATO could intervene militarily.
Speaking to the BBC while flanked by the flags of Poland, NATO and the EU, President Andrzej Duda was blunt that the use of chemical weapons would be considered a “game changer” for the alliance:
“Well of course everybody hopes that he will not dare use weapons of mass destruction,” Mr Duda said.
“Neither chemical weapons, nor biological weapons, nor any form of nuclear weapons. Everybody’s hoping this is not going to happen.
“But as we say in Poland, using a little bit of an English expression, if he uses any weapon of mass destruction this will be a game changer in the whole thing.
“And for sure, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance and its leaders, led by the United States, will have to sit at that table and they will really have to think seriously about what to do.
“Because then it starts to be dangerous. Not only for Europe, not only for our part of Europe or our region, but for the whole world.”
2HW3FD9 London, UK. 3rd March 2022. A protester holds a placard calling fora NATO no-fly zone. Demonstrators gathered in Trafalgar Square for the ninth day of protests as Russia continues its attack on Ukraine. Credit: Vuk Valcic/Alamy Live News
Russia used chemical weapons while fighting alongside the Assad regime in Syria and one man, whose hometown was repeatedly attacked by them, described their use as “terrifying”:
"A barrel bomb or a rocket kills people instantly without them feeling it... but the chemicals suffocate,” Abu Jaafar said.
“It's a slow death, like drowning someone, depriving them of oxygen. It's horrifying."
The Kremlin recently accused the US of manufacturing chemical weapons with the Ukrainians. However, President Zelenskyy said that the accusation had left him “really, really worried”:
“We've been repeatedly convinced: if you want to know Russia's plans, look at what Russia accuses others of,” he said.
Yavoriv attack
President Duda’s intervention came mere hours after at least 35 people were killed by a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian military base in Yavoriv close to the Polish border.
At least another 134 individuals were wounded in the attack, a Ukrainian official said.
Maksym Kozytskyy, Governor of Lviv, said the attack began at 5.45am local time and that the Russians fired more than 30 missiles at the base.
The facility is normally used by visiting NATO troops taking part in joint exercises with the Ukrainian military.
Britain described the attack as a "significant escalation" in the conflict, while US President Joe Biden said that if Russia attacks any NATO member state then the alliance will defend it.
Main image: A Polish soldier walking past a sign for the Nato summit, in the grounds of the national stadium in Warsaw, Poland, 7 July 2016. The state and government leaders of NATO are meeting in Warsaw on 08 and 09 July 2016 to discuss their strategy of deterrence against Russia. Photo: RAINER JENSEN/dpa
