News | A toxic war

Could Russia use chemical weapons in Ukraine?

The White House warns that Vladimir Putin may resort to his tools of mass destruction

IDLIB, SYRIA - APRIL 08: Demonstrators draw picture on a wall that describe the poisonous gas attack as they gather to protest against Assad regime forces' allegedly conducted poisonous gas attack to Duma town of Eastern Ghouta, in Kafranbel town of Idlib, Syria on April 08, 2018. (Photo by Muhammed es Sami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

VLADIMIR PUTIN has rocketed Kyiv, shelled Kharkiv and bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol in his quixotic and blood-soaked effort to “de-Nazify” Ukraine. Some think he may soon resort to worse. “[W]e should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false-]flag operation using them,” warned Jen Psaki, the White House spokeswoman, on March 9th. “I’ll make you one other prediction,” noted Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, a day later. “The stuff that you are hearing about chemical weapons…is straight out of their playbook.”