US president Joe Biden has said that Russian claims Ukraine is planning to employ biological and chemical weapons reveal that Russia itself is considering their use in the conflict.

The Reuters newswire service reported last night that 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]”.

Biden also denied that Ukraine had programmes for such weapons.

The Russian defence ministry has said that Kyiv is planning a chemical attack on its own populations for the purpose of blaming Moscow.

While US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told Russian Security Council secretary with Nikolay Patrushev earlier this month that see “any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine,” would be met with consequences, the White House has failed to elaborate on what such consequences could entail.