Members of Congress looking into reports of chemical weapons in Ukraine

Members of the US Congress say the Biden administration and its allies will not stand by if chemical weapons were used in the Russian war with Ukraine.

Lawmakers monitoring developments during a trip to Poland say that the US is investigating reports that a poisonous substance has been dropped in Mariupol. But they caution that determining the nature of the attack in the beleaguered port city could take time.

“We’re taking those reports seriously and I know the United States government and others are trying to determine if that did indeed occur,” says Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.

Crow says the administration “has been very clear that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.”

The Democratic lawmakers, all members of the House Intelligence Committee, are bracing for a potential long war in Ukraine. They say at a press briefing that Congress is looking at next steps in sending additional military and other aid to Ukraine.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also addresses the reports coming from Mariupol.

“We’re not in a position to confirm anything, I don’t think Ukrainians are either,” Blinken tells reporters. “But let me say that we had credible information that Russian forces may use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, that would cause stronger symptoms to weaken, incapacitate… Ukrainian fighters and civilians, as part of the aggressive campaign” in Mariupol.

“We share that information with… Ukraine and other partners,” Blinken says. “And we’re in direct conversation with partners to try to determine what actually is happening.”