Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President: “One of the Russian occupiers’ speakers said that they might use chemical weapons against defenders of Mariupol. We consider it very seriously. I’d like to remind the world leaders that Russia’s possible use of chemical weapons has been already discussed. At that moment, it meant that the reaction to the Russian aggression had to be much more severe and faster.”
Marise Payne, Australian Foreign Minister: “There are extremely concerning reports out of Ukraine this morning in relation to the use of chemical weapons by Russia. If they are confirmed, that will be a further wholesale breach of international law. A further indication of President (Vladimir) Putin and Russia’s absolute violation of every single value and every single rules-based aspect of the rules based global order, which has stood us in such good stead for so many decades now. Australia, will be working with our counterparts to determine the veracity of these reports, and we’ll have more to say on that later.”
James Heappey, British Armed Forces Minister: “These are appalling weapons to even think about using. The fact that they are part of the discussion is deeply sobering. It’s not just the president of the United States, the president of France, and our own prime minister have also been clear that there are weapons that simply should not be used. And if they are used, people will be held to account. I think it’s useful to maintain some ambiguity over exactly what the response would be. But let’s be clear, if they are used at all, then (Russian) President Putin should know that all possible options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond.”
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