LONDON (ParliamentPolitics Magazine) – Boris Johnson has vowed serious repercussions if Ukraine is attacked with chemical weapons, but has declined to elaborate.
The Prime Minister claimed there was visceral fear at the idea of Russia President Putin deploying weapons of mass destruction at a press conference in Brussels following a summit of NATO leaders.
But he declined to go into detail about the threat, blaming “logistics” for the West’s refusal to send tanks in response to Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea.
The ramifications would be very severe if Putin did something like that, he remarked.
You have to leave some room for ambiguity in the response, but he believes it would be disastrous for him if he does that.
Such a strike, according to a Western diplomat, would fundamentally transform the dynamics of the month-long conflict.
Mr Johnson told counterparts during three hours of meetings at the coalition’s Brussels headquarters that they all wanted Putin to wake up and put his tanks in reverse; otherwise, he’ll continue to grind on with just forward gears.
He’s already gone beyond the red line into barbarism.
The Ukrainians’ gallantry has fundamentally altered Europe’s geopolitics.
“‘Did we do enough?’ I don’t think we can deny them in their moment of agony. We have the means and they have need,” he added.
The PM, on the other hand, blamed “logistics” for his inability to assist Mr Zelensky with tanks and fighter planes.
From a logistical standpoint, it appears to be quite tough at present, both in terms of jets and armour, he said.
They were very aware of what he was requesting. At the moment, they were focusing on the equipment that they believe will be more useful right away.
Amid fears that Russia will use chemical weapons, NATO countries are preparing to deliver Hazmat suits to Ukrainian citizens.
According to Secretary-General Jens Soltenberg, coalition leaders agreed to activate the alliance’s nuclear, biological and radiological, chemical and biological defence elements.
Allies were in agreement of supplying equipment to help Ukraine fight against nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical threats, he said during a press briefing.
Detection devices, protection, and medical support, along with decontamination and crisis management training, might all be included.
Ukrainians are expected to receive self-defence kits. However, there will not be enough to meet the needs of the entire population.
“There is safety equipment that we can offer to Ukrainians, such as wash-up kits and protection kits and so on,” Western diplomats said on Thursday.
There’s an issue about when and how to supply those, and that’s something that needs to be figured out because they didn’t have 44 million of these kits, and have no idea where, when, or how they’d employ such weapons.
There is a lot of preparation work going on in detail.
However, the official agreed that in the event of a chemical attack, NATO would be “very unlikely” to go to war with Russia.
Mr. Stoltenberg mentioned the Salisbury nerve agent attack in 2018, in which Russian agents poisoned a former KGB spy in an attempted assassination.
