25 April 2024,   13:56
more
Allies agreed to supply equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats - Jens Stoltenberg

Allies agreed to supply equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. Such a statement made today NATO Secretary General after the extraordinary Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government.

“We are concerned, partly because we see the rhetoric and we see that Russia is trying to create some kind of pretext accusing Ukraine, United States, NATO Allies [of] preparing to use chemical and biological weapons. And we have seen before that this way of accusing others is actually a way to create a pretext for doing the same themselves. And of course, accusations against Ukraine and NATO Allies are absolutely false. Any use of chemical weapons will totally change the nature of the conflict. It will be a blatant violation of international law and it will have widespread consequences and, of course, be extremely dangerous. It will affect the people in Ukraine. But there"s also a risk that it will have a direct effect on people living in NATO countries, because we can see contamination, we can see the spread of chemical agents or biological weapons into our countries. We also know that Russia has used chemical agents against its own opposition, and they have used it on NATO territory, in Salisbury, before. And we also know that Russia has facilitated, supported, the Assad regime in Syria when they used chemical weapons against their own population.

So this just highlights the importance of ending this war immediately because this is a dangerous situation and therefore we impose the sanctions, and therefore we support Ukraine. Allies agreed to supply equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. This could include detection equipment, protection and medical support, as well as training for decontamination and crisis management. We are also enhancing Allies’ preparedness and readiness for chemical and biological and nuclear threats. Our top military commander, General Wolters, has activated NATO’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence elements, and Allies are deploying additional chemical and biological and nuclear defences to reinforce our existing and new battlegroups. So we are taking measures both to support Ukraine, and also to defend ourselves”, - said Jens Stoltenberg.

MORE HEADLINES