Lviv (Ukraine): A Reuters report Tuesday said civilians were fleeing from areas of eastern Ukraine ahead of an anticipated Russian offensive. Meanwhile Kyiv said it was checking reports that Russian forces had used chemical weapons in the besieged port city of Mariupol. The battle for Mariupol has reached a decisive phase, with Ukrainian marines holed up in the Azovstal industrial district.
Should the Russians seize Azovstal, they would be in full control of Mariupol, the lynchpin between Russian-held areas to the west and east. The city has already been laid waste by weeks of Russian bombardments that have killed possibly thousands of civilians.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said the Ukrainian government was checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons while besieging Mariupol. “There is a theory that these could be phosphorous munitions,” Malyar said in televised comments.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had said Monday night that Russia could resort to chemical weapons as it amassed troops in the eastern Donbas region for a new assault on Mariupol. He did not say if they actually had been used.
The United States and Britain said they were trying to verify the reports. If Russia had used chemical weapons, ‘all options were on the table’ in response, British Junior Defence Minister James Heappey said in London.
Chemical weapons production, use and stockpiling is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Although condemned by human rights groups, white phosphorous is not banned under the CWC.
Reuters also said that the Russian defence ministry has not yet responded to request for comment. Russian-backed separatist forces in the east denied using chemical weapons in Mariupol, the ‘Interfax’ news agency reported.
Also read: Russia-Ukraine war: 5,000 people killed in Mariupol, 170K remain under siege
But should it prove to be the case, it would mark a dangerous new development in a war that has already left a trail of death of destruction since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops over the border February 24.
About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million population have been forced from their homes. Cities have turned into rubble, and thousands of people have been killed or injured – many of them civilians.
Redoubling efforts
Putin calls the action a ‘special military operation’ to demilitarise and ‘denazify’ Ukraine. However, his efforts have drawn condemnation and alarm in the West. The West has imposed a wide range of sanctions to squeeze the Russian economy.
After their troops got bogged down in the face of Ukrainian resistance, the Russians abandoned their bid to capture the capital Kyiv for now. But they are redoubling their efforts in the east and Ukrainian forces are digging in to face a new offensive.
The governor of Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, urged residents to evacuate using five humanitarian corridors agreed for the east. “It’s far scary to remain and burn in your sleep from a Russian shell,” Gaidai wrote on social media. “Evacuate, with every day the situation is getting worse. Take your essential items and head to the pickup point.”
In all, nine humanitarian corridors had been agreed for Tuesday, including one for private cars from Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
The Ukrainian military said its troops had repulsed attacks in both Luhansk and Donetsk.
Zelenskiy pleaded overnight for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off the expected Russian offensive in the east. “Unfortunately we are not getting as much as we need to end this war faster… in particular, to lift the blockade of Mariupol,” Zelenskiy stated.