Biden says, Putin is considering using biological and chemical weapons

Washington/22.03.22/Turan: U.S. President Joe Biden suggested on Monday that Moscow's false accusations regarding Kyiv "possessing" biological and chemical weapons illustrate that Vladimir Putin is considering using them himself in his war against Ukraine, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

Speaking before the Business Roundtable event Monday evening, Biden said, Putin’s "back is against the wall" and now "he’s talking about new false flags he’s setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe, simply not true..."

"They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That’s a clear sign he’s considering using both of those,” Biden added.

The move came just hours after the Pentagon accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine, saying the Kremlin had carried out indiscriminate attacks as part of an intentional strategy in the conflict.

“We certainly see clear evidence that Russian forces are committing war crimes and we are helping with the collecting of evidence of that,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday afternoon.

“But there’s investigative processes that are going to go on, and we’re going to let that happen. We’re going to contribute to that investigative process”.

Earlier in the day, Biden discussed "serious concerns about Russia’s brutal tactics in Ukraine, including its attacks on civilians" with France's Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British PM Boris Johnson.

The leaders "underscored their continued support for Ukraine, including by providing security assistance to the brave Ukrainians who are defending their country from Russian aggression, and humanitarian assistance to the millions of Ukrainians who have fled the violence" White House said in a readout.

The Biden administration also briefed 16 CEOs of major companies across several industries including energy, food, and manufacturing on the latest developments on Putin’s war against Ukraine. According to the White House, the participants discussed "the need to work together to address Putin’s disruptions to global markets and supply chains, especially for energy and agricultural commodities, and identify alternative sources of supply for key goods"

The White House also urged private companies to bolster their cyber defenses, citing "evolving intelligence" suggesting the Russian government is exploring “options for potential cyberattacks” targeting U.S. critical infrastructure.

"This is a critical moment to accelerate our work to improve domestic cybersecurity and bolster our national resilience... I have previously warned about the potential that Russia could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs we’ve imposed on Russia alongside our allies and partners. It’s part of Russia’s playbook. Today, my Administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks" Biden said in a statement.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.