US warns Russia may deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says Russia may deploy chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, after Russia accused the US and Ukraine of using those weapons, and China repeated Russia’s accusations.

“We 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. It’s a clear pattern,” Psaki says.

The State Department says in a statement that Russia is “spreading outright lies” that the US and Ukraine are conducting chemical and biological weapons activities, and that Chinese officials are echoing Russian conspiracy theories.

The US calls the claims “total nonsense and not the first time Russia has invented such false claims.”

“Russia is inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine,” the statement says.

The US does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine or anywhere else, and is in full compliance with international conventions, it says.

“Russia has a track record of accusing the West of the very crimes that Russia itself is perpetrating. These tactics are an obvious ploy by Russia to try to justify further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attacks on Ukraine,” the State Department says.

US intelligence has consistently warned of Russian moves in Ukraine before they happened in recent weeks.

In the Syrian civil war, the Assad regime, while allied with Russia, used chemical weapons against civilians.