Will Putin Unleash Chemical or Biological Weapons in Ukraine?

He may use it as a tactic of last resort

As the war drags on in Ukraine, Putin is only getting angrier and more frustrated by the day. His growing impatience is reflected in his military tactics which are becoming more brutal.

Since the invasion began, the Russian military has increased its attacks on civilians, residential buildings, children’s hospitals, and maternity wards. As the war escalates, more and more reports of casualties are being reported amid Russian attacks against civilians, such as the recent bombing of a shelter in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians, including children, sought shelter.

As angry and frustrated Putin is right now, he won’t back down and is more likely to double down on his aggression. And given the monstrous atrocities that he’s already committed towards the Ukrainian people, I can’t exclude the possibility that he will resort to more extreme tactics — using chemical or biological weapons.

It’s not a distant threat — it’s a high possibility, given the level of brutality that the Russian military has already unleashed by indiscriminately bombing infrastructure and attacking civilians. The stakes are now high and that’s why we should be on high alert.

If Putin does unleash chemical or biological weapons, it could escalate the crisis further and potentially lead to WW3. One could assume if that happens, the US and its allies would respond by putting their troops on the ground, and we will be involved in military warfare with Russia. And this is why it’s so dangerous if Putin’s threats become a reality.

The threat of chemical or biological attack will be even higher when Putin realizes his military resources are depleted and he still hasn’t taken over Kyiv. Also, the amount of resistance that Russians will face as they make headway into major cities, as well as the amount of preparation that Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have done to defend their two main target cities — Kyiv and Odesa — it’s no doubt that the victory won’t come easy for Russians.

The stakes for chemical and biological weapons are high

There are two reasons to believe that Putin will unleash chemical/biological threats.

First, we already know how unpredictable Putin is; he is unhinged and maniacal. The more he’s pushed to the corner, the more likely he’ll escalate his aggression. The war in Ukraine didn’t turn out to be a swift operation as he hoped it would be. On top of that, it won’t be long before his military resources will get depleted, given the tough sanctions that were placed on Russia.

When he realizes he’s walking on a tight rope, this is the time when he may resort to using chemical or biological weapons as a tactic of last resort. He may use it either as a retaliatory measure or as a way to achieve a swift victory when his military operation fails.

Second, the chemical threat is a classic example from Putin’s playbook. On many occasions, when he planned to initiate an action, he did it as a pretext for a counterattack. An example of this tactic was when he moved his troops down to the Donbas region under the pretext that he was protecting Russian separatist states Donetsk and Lugansk from Ukrainian Nazi attacks. He’s also used it as a tactic for his own propaganda to justify the invasion of Ukraine citing the NATO expansion as a threat to Russia’s security.

In this current scenario, his newly launched propaganda will push the narrative that Ukrainians threatened to use biological weapons against the Russian military.

In Putin’s terms, this only means that he is likely to use biological and chemical weapons against Ukrainians.

Staging a false flag operation is a classic example from Putin’s playbook.

Which is the reason why the West and its allies have placed a chemical and biological threat on high alert and been watching closely for any possible signs of Putin launching such an attack.

But the question remains, how will the U.S. respond should Putin initiate such an attack? When one of the reporters asked Biden what measures he would take, he stated that the west would respond with some countermeasure. But it wasn’t a definitive statement and it’s still not clear exactly what action he’ll be prepared to take if Putin launches a chemical attack.

Putin unleashing chemical or biological weapons on Ukraine could further escalate the crisis. I could see how it could lead to some form of U.S. military action from the United States. As much as we’ve stayed out of this war, it could push us into military involvement with Russia, which could plunge us into WW3.

That’s why we should not take a threat of chemical or biological attack lightly and dismiss the possibility of Putin doubling down on his aggression. We should be on high alert and watch closely as the war unfolds.

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