Chemical weapon use in Ukraine would be a war crime, says minister

Business minister Paul Scully told Sky News this morning that the employment of biological or chemical weapons by Russian forces would “undoubtedly” constitute a war crime.

US president Joe Biden has said that Russian claims Ukraine is planning to use such weapons reveals that Russia itself is considering their use in the conflict.

Biden informed a Business Roundtable event yesterday that Putin’s accusations against Kyiv were a “clear sign he’s considering using both [chemical and biological weapons]”. He also denied that Ukraine was planning to use them.

“Yeah, undoubtedly and I think President Biden and the Prime Minister have been really resolute in making sure that we can take every action with the international community to address those crimes of Vladimir Putin,” Scully explained.

“You have got to remember as well with all of this, that this is Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, it is not the Russian people so we have got to make sure that we can appeal to the Russian people to bring an end to this,” he went on.