Pentagon, Partners Working to Verify Azov Regiment Reports That Russia Used ‘Poisonous Substance’ in Mariupol

The remains of the drama theatre which was reportedly hit by a bomb when hundreds of people were sheltering inside, in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. Azov/Handout via Reuters

The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have said they are working to verify unconfirmed reports on social media that Russian forces used a “poisonous substance” in the long-contested southern city of Mariupol.

The Azov Regiment, a neo-Nazi unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, said on Telegram that Russia used a “poisonous substance of an unknown origin” in the port city. The regiment has been defending war-torn Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Azov Sea that would provide Russia a land corridor to Crimea if captured, since it took control from pro-Russian separatist forces in 2014.