West fears Russia could use non-conventional weaponson March 9, 2022 at 5:32 pm

Western officials have said they are “very concerned” about the risk of escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

They are particularly concerned about the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons, they say.

This most likely refers to chemical weapons although the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs.

“We’ve got good reason to be concerned,” said one Western official.

They said this was partly because of what had been seen in other places where Russia has been engaged in conflict, notably Syria where chemical weapons were used by its allies.

Officials also pointed to some of the disinformation and claims coming from Russia as potentially “setting the scene” for some kind of “false flag” claim that the Ukrainians had used them – or developed weapons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has claimed documents were found showing biological weapons were made in Ukrainian laboratories with funding from the US.

There have also been claims from Russian media about Ukrainian plans to build so-called dirty bombs which contain radioactive material.

The Western official said similar stories had come from Russia before their use in Syria.

The official said there were “other indications as well” – likely referring to some kind of intelligence. “It’s a serious concern for us,” they said.

The global watchdog that oversees implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention – the OPCW – describes a chemical weapon as a chemical used to cause intentional death or harm through its toxic properties.

Their use is banned under international humanitarian law regardless of a valid military target because their effects are indiscriminate by nature and designed to cause superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering.