Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine – and “we should all be on the lookout”, the White House has said. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Russia’s claims about US biological weapon labs, and chemical weapon development in Ukraine, were preposterous. She called the false claims an “obvious ploy” to try to justify further premeditated, unprovoked attacks. It comes after Western officials shared similar concerns about fresh attacks. They said they were “very concerned” about the risk the war could escalate, and particularly the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons. This most likely refers to chemical weapons although the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs. “We’ve got good reason to be concerned,” said one Western official. They said this was partly because of what had been seen in other places where Russia has been engaged – notably Syria where chemical weapons were used by its allies.(BBC)…[+]