The United States has “credible information” that Russia “may use… chemical agents” in its offensive to take the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

The top US diplomat said he was “not in a position to confirm” recent allegations that Moscow used chemical weapons in Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov.

But he continued: “We had credible information that Russian forces may use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents that would cause stronger symptoms to weaken and incapacitate entrenched Ukrainian fighters and civilians, as part of the aggressive campaign to take Mariupol.”

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