President Joe Biden offered the first indication of how the U.S. might enter the war in Ukraine militarily when asked Thursday about mounting Western concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may employ chemical weapons to break the burgeoning stalemate there.
“It would trigger a response in-kind,” Biden told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels shortly after meeting with other heads of state gathering there for an emergency session to discuss the month-old conflict.
“Whether NATO would cross,” he added, “we’d make that decision at the time.”
It was not immediately clear what Biden meant by “in-kind,” though it seems virtually certain he was not suggesting further use of chemical weapons – an act that would violate international law and would not be in keeping with the Biden administration’s foreign policy approach. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
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Other political leaders in the U.S. who, like Biden, are reluctant to enter into direct conflict with Russia have said in recent days that a chemical weapons attack would likely change their opinion. Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said last week that NATO should enforce a no-fly zone if Putin employs chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Putin and his top advisers have repeatedly offered conspiracy theories in recent weeks – in part as a justification for Russia’s unprovoked offensive in Ukraine – that Kyiv plans to use chemical or biological weapons against Russia and its people, including debunked claims that U.S.-backed labs in Ukraine are producing such pathogens.
Intelligence services in the U.S., U.K. and other Western powers have warned that such rhetoric from the Kremlin may serve as a pretext to Putin’s employment of chemical or biological weapons against Ukrainian troops and civilians as the disorganization of the Russian offensive threatens to devolve it into a stalemate.
“Russia could possibly be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in a ‘false-flag’ operation. Such an operation could take the form of a faked attack, a staged ‘discovery’ of agents or munitions or fabricated evidence of alleged Ukrainian planning to use such weapons,” a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said last week. “A ‘false-flag’ attack would almost certainly be accompanied by extensive disinformation to complicate attribution.”
That threat appears to grow as Ukrainian forces become more willing and able to defend against the Russian onslaught and in some cases regain territory. A U.S. defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity told reporters Wednesday evening that some Russian forces outside Kyiv, bogged down by disorganization, poor reinforcements and surprisingly potent opposition from the Ukrainians, had begun entrenching their positions rather than attempting to continue to try advancing into the capital city.
Biden’s warning on Thursday comes as Western powers consider other forms of punishment against Putin in response to the war. The president added that he would push for Russia to be removed from the G-20 group of global economic powers and not be allowed to attend the upcoming summit in Indonesia in October.
Russia’s ambassador to the southeast Asian nation said this week that Putin himself still planned to attend. Analysts have suggested that Indonesia likely would not unilaterally block Russian delegates from participating.
“If that can’t be done, if Indonesia and others do not agree, then we should, in my view, ask to have both Ukraine be able to attend the meetings as well,” Biden said. “Basically, Ukraine being able to attend the G-20 meeting and observe.”
Russia was removed from what was previously known as the Group of Eight, or G-8, following its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and forced annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Donald Trump on several occasions during his presidency openly advocated for Russia to rejoin the bloc without preconditions, drawing rebukes from leaders in other member countries.
Critics of Biden’s, particularly among Republicans seeking reelection this fall, have blamed the current president for weakness internationally and for not showing the kind of brazen military strength internationally to deter Putin from invading Ukraine.
“Be sure that after a month, we will sustain what we’re doing – not just next month, not just the following month but for the remainder of the entire year,” Biden said. “That’s what will stop him.”