Russia's Defense Director Says Ukrainian Nationalists Are Preparing For Chemical Attack As Troops Enter Areas

Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, Director of the Russian National Defense Management Center. (Twitter/@mod_russia)

JAKARTA - Nationalists are planning chemical attacks in some areas of Ukraine if Russian troops enter the region, said Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defense Management Center.

A month into the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, the intensity of the attacks between the two countries has increased, causing the number of refugees, injured and dead to continue to rise, including children.

"Nationalists have placed mines in the ammonia and chlorine storage facilities at the Sumykhimprom chemical plant in Sumy, to poison the residents of the Sumy region if Russian troops enter the city," he said, quoted by TASS, March 21.

"In the settlement of Kotlyarovo, Nikolayev region, the militants of the nationalist unit planned a provocation with the use of toxic chemicals. For this purpose, they have placed containers with toxic chemicals in the high school building, which will explode when Russian troops approach the settlement," Mizintsev said.

"We warn the entire civilized world and international organizations about the cynical provocations of the Ukrainian authorities, which, if realized, will be blamed on the Russian troops, because they have been carried out more than once," he stressed.

Mizintsev added that this was done with the support of the United States and a number of European Union countries, which regard Ukraine as an instrument of anti-Russian policy.

Furthermore, he also told about some of the violations reported by Russia's humanitarian response coordination headquarters in Ukraine. For example, the radical practice of territorial defense battalions, extorting money from civilians at checkpoints, along the highway connecting Chernigov and Kyiv under the pretext of raising funds for the Ukrainian army.

"The cost for those trying to flee to Russia is twice as high. The most cynical thing is, if people lack enough money, the radicals snatch their cars and send people back on foot," he criticized.