US official says no confirmation chemical agents used in Mariupol

An American defense official says the US can’t confirm Ukrainian allegations of a chemical attack in the city of Mariupol.

Ukrainian lawmaker Ivanna Klympush said yesterday that Russia had used an “unknown substance” in Mariupol and that people were suffering from respiratory failure. “Most likely chem.weapons!” she tweeted.

Ukraine’s Azov battalion in a Telegram message earlier in the day had claimed a Russian drone dropped a “poisonous substance” on Ukrainian troops and civilians in Mariupol.

“We cannot confirm the use of chemical agents at this time,” the US official tells reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The official also says Washington does not possess evidence that Russia has been moving chemical agents near Ukraine or into the country, according to Reuters.