Russia may use chemical weapons in false flag attack but not more broadly, Western official says

LONDON - Russia might use chemical weapons in Ukraine in a "false flag" attack to provide a retrospective justification for its invasion, but there is nothing to suggest a broader use of such weapons in the war, a Western official said.

"We think that chemical weapons could be used in a false flag attack to provide a retrospective justification for Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the official said on Friday.

"The context that we've been looking at it in is from a false flag perspective. Clearly, whilst the Russians are highly likely to have a chemical weapons capability, there is nothing to suggest that they intend to use at this point in a major escalation of the current conflict."