麻豆约拍

Capturing Mariupol has been one of Moscow's key aims in the war. The city has been surrounded by Russian forces who have been bombing the city relentlessly for several weeks, and people there have been left with no water, food, electricity or internet.

One of the latest developments from the city is a claim that Russia has used chemical weapons. Ukraine's Azov regiment said three soldiers reported that white smoke had been seen on Monday, and that they had experienced difficulty breathing. However, no evidence has been presented to confirm the use of chemical weapons.

Shayan Sardarizadeh, from the 麻豆约拍's Disinformation and Open Source team, explained what they know about the reports and the kind of information that would be need to verify the claims. He says visual imagery, samples from the ground, expert medical opinion, and more details about the actual attack would all be needed to prove that chemical weapons had been used.

"Extensive research is needed - videos and images from the munitions, the kind of smoke, evidence from medical experts, methods of dissemination, details of the smell - that all takes time."

Photo: A destroyed apartment building in Mariupol, Ukraine Credit: EPA

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