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A pro-Russian separatist tank in the Donetsk region
Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS
Like the US before him, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Russia could use chemical weapons in the Ukraine war.
"The things you hear about chemical weapons are right out of Russia's script," Johnson said in an interview with Sky News, scheduled to air in full Thursday night.
Johnson: Russia already has 'fake history'
"They start by saying that their opponents or the Americans are stockpiling chemical weapons," Johnson said of the Russian leadership.
"And then when they use chemical weapons themselves, which I'm afraid they might do, they already have a kind of maskirovka, a fake story, ready."
The White House also fears an attack by Russia with chemical or biological weapons - but also without presenting any concrete evidence.
On Wednesday evening, Joe Biden's spokeswoman Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter that Moscow wants to pave the way for further escalating the unjustified war of aggression in Ukraine by spreading misinformation.
Russia follows a clear pattern of behavior - either to use weapons of mass destruction itself or to simulate an attack by the Ukrainians.
This should construct a justification for the continuation of the war, Psaki continued.
Psaki explained that Russia has repeatedly used chemical weapons - for example in attacks on political opponents of President Vladimir Putin like Alexei Navalny.
In addition, Moscow supports the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has "repeatedly used chemical weapons".
There is a method for Russia to accuse the West of violations that the country is committing itself.
Russia has accused Ukraine of developing nuclear or biological weapons.
Only on Monday did the Russian Ministry of Defense claim that there was a network of biological laboratories in Ukraine working on behalf of the US Department of Defense.
However, international fact-checkers have long since invalidated this claim.
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