The ministry cited former US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan as saying that “Russian troops plan to use chemical weapons in the special military operation area”.

“We regard this information as the intention of the US and their accomplices to carry out a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals,” Igor Kirillov, chief of the radiation, chemical and biological defence troops of Russia’s armed forces said during a briefing.

He said that Moscow “will identify and punish the true culprits”.