The Ukrainian government and its Western allies have warned that an increasingly desperate Russian military could wage chemical warfare for weeks.
The threat appears to have come on Monday after Ukraine said it was investigating “unverified” information that Russian troops had used chemical weapons in the besieged southern city of Mariupol.
Read more: Ukraine investigates reports that Russia may have used chemical weapons in Mariupol
Unlike other reports of Russian atrocities in places like Bucha, which were quickly confirmed by Ukrainian and international authorities, reports of a chemical war in Mariupol were treated with caution and skepticism.
This is partly due to the source of the accusations: the far-right, “ultranationalist” group of the Azov militia.
Azov leader Andriy Biletsky told the Kyiv Independent that three people in Mariupol showed “clear signs of chemical poisoning” on April 11th, although Biletsky said there were no “catastrophic consequences” for their health.
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The unverified accusation has raised concerns that Russia, already accused of illegal invasion, massacre of civilians and torture, has crossed another line in its increasingly bloody war.
But to understand why Azov’s allegations have been met with more skepticism, you need to know about the regiment’s history – and its role in the information war waged by Russia’s invasion.
Who is the Azov Battalion?
Azov was formed in May 2014 as a “voluntary police battalion”, according to Anton Shekhovstov, director of the Austrian Center for Democratic Integrity and a researcher of far-right groups in Europe. Their formation was directly influenced by the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia.
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“The original battalion consisted mainly of football hooligans and members of the Ukrainian far right, and the far-right Patriot of Ukraine was responsible for the original battalion,” Shekhovstov wrote.
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“Several key people who were directly involved in the formation of the Azov Battalion had a very dubious history of cooperation not only with pro-Russian forces in Ukraine but also with Russian political spin doctors.
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“Besides, neither Azov nor other battalions conducted a proper inspection of volunteers, some of whom came from Russia. All this has created a huge security risk for Russian operatives to take control of Azov and become anti-Ukrainian forces.
Shekhovstov writes that some of the far-right elements in Azov are leaving to try to take advantage of the regiment’s military success, especially during the liberation of Mariupol. But far-right political parties in Ukraine failed to establish themselves in the election – according to Shekhovstov, far-right parties received less than 2.2% of the vote.
But Azov continues to be a force, both militarily and in the propaganda war. Russia’s “special military operation” has the “denazification” of Ukraine as one of its stated goals. The fact that Azov’s detractors call them extremists with neo-Nazi roots helps this propaganda campaign.
Read more: Reports from US surveillance of possible chemical weapons attack in Ukraine by Russia
“But if we look at the real facts, then in the last parliamentary elections in Ukraine, the far-right forces received less than three percent (of the popular vote), which meant they were not even represented in parliament and a Jewish president was elected by a large majority. “Said Andres Kasekamp, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.
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“And if you think about those three percent, if you look around most of the West, especially Europe, then most European countries have far-right groups that are in parliament with much more than three percent.
Claims for chemical weapons
According to the Kyiv Independent, Azov claims that the “poisonous substance” was “spread by a drone”. The victims reported shortness of breath and “vestibulocerebellar ataxia”, a neurological disorder, the regiment said.
The Ukrainian government has not confirmed the use of chemical weapons, and US and UK intelligence agencies – which released intelligence reports before and during the Russian invasion – said they were aware of the allegations but did not confirm them.
Read more: Russia uses phosphorus bombs, terrorist tactics in Ukraine, says Zelensky
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“There is a theory that these may be phosphorus munitions,” Hanna Malyar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said on Tuesday.
“Official information will come later.”
U.S. officials said last week that they had supplied equipment to protect Ukrainian soldiers from chemical and biological weapons.
Russia has denied the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine and accused the Ukrainian government – without evidence – of preparing to use chemical weapons. The Kremlin and its proxies on the Internet have also been active in spreading conspiracy theories about US biolabs in Ukraine – a pretext, some observers say, for the use of chemical weapons by Russian forces.
But Western intelligence agencies – including the United States and the United Kingdom – have been reluctant to confirm Azov’s report, despite a general willingness to share sensitive intelligence on the Russian invasion.
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The confirmation will put even more pressure on Western governments to help Ukraine in their struggle. But if Azov’s allegations are refuted or discredited, the Kremlin will have another arrow in its quiver to discredit Ukraine’s atrocities.
– with files from Reuters.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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