Chemical attack in Mariupol? Don’t be so sure.

Devastation in Mariupol (Source: The BBC)

Adapted from one of my Facebook posts on this topic.

Quite frankly, the reports coming out of Mariupol now don’t have the markers one would expect from a chem attack.

The report is now that three soldiers from the Azov battalion experienced mysterious symptoms after a drone reportedly dropped something. None of this adds up.

Ukraine’s Azov regiment said three soldiers were injured by “a poisonous substance” in an attack on Monday.

However, no evidence has been presented to confirm the use of chemical weapons.

First, a “good” chemical weapon requires “persistence”. It has to stick to the ground. We don’t get that from the report. Instead, the total effect is three soldiers. Not 300 or 3000. But 3.

Second, if it were a small drone, the payload wouldn’t be big enough to deliver anything persistent.

Third, in old cities, there are bound to be all kinds of wonderful toxic chemicals being released through bombing. Lead and asbestos are the two that come to mind. Also, I believe formaldehyde was a popular chemical in 1900s construction too.

There are two possible explanations for this and neither is good.