The Russian Defence Ministry says it has information that Ukraine’s security service is planning a provocation involving the use of poisonous substances, and that Kiev has received support in these efforts from members of the UN Security Council.
“We have it on good authority that, with the support of Western countries, the Security Service of Ukraine is preparing a provocation using poisonous substances against civilians. The purpose of this action is to accuse Russia of using chemical weapons against the people of Ukraine,” MoD spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing Wednesday.
“I want to officially declare that the units of the Russian armed forces involved in the special operation do not have and cannot have chemical munitions,” Konashenkov stressed. Unlike the United States, Russia fulfilled its international obligations to completely destroy its stockpiles of chemical weapons a long time ago, he added.
The spokesman noted that Russian forces were taking control of dangerous facilities inside Ukraine to prevent provocations and ensure their protection.
Offering specific details, Konashenkov indicated that Russian forces had captured documentation belonging to the 4th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard, including a detailed map of the country featuring the locations of facilities storing poisonous substances.
“Therefore, any attempt by the Security Service of Ukraine to carry out a provocation using poisonous substances will inevitably be uncovered,” Konashenkov said.
The MoD spokesman also commented on the images coming out of the city of Chernigov, and media reports that Russian troops “shot and killed 10 people queuing for bread” in the city.
“I would like to emphasize that Russian forces were not and are not in Chernigov. All formations of the Russian armed forces are situated outside the city, blocking roads, and are not carrying out any offensive activities against the city. The footage put out by Ukrainian propagandists shows no evidence of exploded shells. All windows in nearby buildings are intact. No damage to walls or other evidence of explosions on the ground are present. Therefore, the dead are either victims of the terror of Ukrainian nationalists, or the footage is another fake by the Security Service of Ukraine,” Konashenkov said.
“We would like to point out that alongside Ukrainian internet resources, this material appeared on the social media resources of the US Embassy in Ukraine without any checks or evidence. At the same time, the Embassy itself is situated in Lvov, not Kiev, and ignores Russian forces’ delivery of hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid in those settlements freed of nationalist forces,” he added.
Konashenkov also reported on Russian forces’ operations for the day, saying precision strikes had wiped out communications, intelligence and relay centers in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and shot down a Ukrainian Mi-24 gunship and six drones near the settlement of Sarana. Russian military aviation and drones also destroyed 34 military objects, including three command centers, according to the MoD spokesman. In total, Russia has destroyed 180 Ukrainian jets and helicopters, 166 drones, 1,367 tanks and armoured vehicles to date, he said.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
