United States on Wednesday warned Russia that there will be “consequences” if it uses chemical or biological weapons in its war on Ukraine.
In a statement, the White House said that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with General Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, and reiterated the United States’ "firm and clear opposition to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine".
Sullivan "clearly laid out" the US commitment to continue imposing costs on Russia, to support the defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, in continued full coordination with our Allies and partners, the White House added.
It further said Sullivan told Gen Patrushev that if Russia is serious about diplomacy then Moscow should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns. He also warned Gen Patrushev about the "consequences & implications" if Russia decides to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
The meeting came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed US lawmakers virtually, where he received a standing ovation.
Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the US must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports. He showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers a graphic video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war, along with heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.
"We need you right now," Zelenskyy said, adding, "I call on you to do more." In urging a steeper economic hit to the Russians, he said: "Peace is more important than income." Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.
"I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths," he told them.
Wearing a short-sleeved army T-shirt, Zelinskyy began his remarks by invoking the destruction the US suffered in 1941 when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by militants who commandeered passenger airplanes to crash into the symbols of Western democracy and economy.
"Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember September 11?" Zelenzkyy asked. "Our countries experience the same every day right now." Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has been imploring allied leaders to stop the Russian airstrikes. President Joe Biden's administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighbouring Poland as the US seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.
(With AP inputs)
