Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed fears that Russian troops may deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Johnson made the comments as the conflict in Ukraine heads into its third week, with the country continuing to fight back in spite of Russia's relentless shelling and attacks on major cities.
Speaking on Sky News' Beth Rigby Interviews programme, Johnson said he believes the only way the war will come to an end is if Russian President Vladimir Putin realises he has made a 'catastrophic mistake'; a realisation that so far seems out of reach, given the amount of time and effort put into building up Russia's forces in the months before the invasion.
This week, the UK's Ministry of Defence confirmed Russia was using the TOS-1A weapon system in Ukraine; a system which uses thermobaric rockets and is reportedly capable of vaporising human bodies.
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Johnson has warned that the country may not stop there, though, as he said Putin may choose to deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine after Moscow previously accused Kyiv of planning to deploy them.
He commented: 'The stuff that you're hearing about chemical weapons is straight out of their playbook. They start saying that there are chemical weapons that have been stored by their opponents or by the Americans.
'And so when they themselves deploy chemical weapons, as I fear they may, they have a sort of maskirovka - a fake story - ready to go.'
Johnson went on to note that similar events had unfolded in the past, saying: 'You've seen it in Syria. You saw it even in the UK. That's what they're already doing. It is a cynical, barbaric government.'
The Prime Minister's comments come after Moscow claimed to have uncovered a military biological weapons programme in Ukraine which involved deadly pathogens such as plague and anthrax.
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Russia called on the US to offer an explanation for the so-called 'Ukrainian biological weapons lab', though a US official said the claim was 'absurd propaganda', Sky News reports.
Johnson said it is 'up to [Putin] and him alone' to make Russia stop its invasion, adding: 'I think he needs to understand that he's made a disastrous miscalculation and that everybody can see that things aren't progressing in the way that he hoped. His best bet, I think, is to withdraw, to cease the violence and to allow a peaceful negotiation to begin.'
The PM also warned that Putin 'needs to understand that his options are not good'.
Johnson has joined the US and the European Union in establishing a series of sanctions against Russia to try and force the country to stop its attack.
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If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information.
Topics: Boris Johnson, Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin
