Late Monday, Ukrainian leaders indicated the worst scenario has possibly happened—unconfirmed reports out of Mariupol, Ukraine—Russia has unleashed chemical weapons.

Ukrainian Parliament member Kira Rudik says,

“’…we had received the report from Mariupol about the usage of poisonous gas. We did not receive the confirmation yet. But we are already working as a government on making sure there are enough antidotes that we would have for the eastern territories,…’”

She continues on to say confirmation will be difficult to get due to Mariupol being under a complete Russian siege. Information is extremely difficult to receive.

Military reports coming in say,

“The Azoz Regiment, a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine claims Russia allegedly used a ‘poisonous substance’ in the city of Mariupol.”

Within hours of the unconfirmed reports, President Volodymyr Zelensky, put out a warning that chemical weapons could be used in Mariupol—describing as a possibility what the parliament member indicated may have occurred.

At the :24 mark, Zelensky gives a foreshadowing of what could happen, but may already have,

“I want to remind world leaders of the possible use of chemical weapons by the Russian military has already been discussed. And already at that time it meant that it was necessary to react to the Russian aggression much tougher and faster.”

He continues to plead for tougher sanctions and a full oil embargo of Russian oil.

What do we know so far?

From an Azov leader, if confirmed, the extent is small in scale.

“Azov leader Andriy Biletsky said that three people have clear signs of chemical poisoning. He added that there are no ‘disastrous consequences’ for their health…Azov said that the poisonous substance had been distributed by a drone. Its victims have shortness of breath and vestibullocerebellar ataxia, the regiment said.”

Great, what now? Let’s remember a few weeks ago when President Joe Biden was in Brussels on his tour of blunders. He put on his big-boy voice and said what would happen if Russia used chemicals instead of weapons, starvation and genocide.

Let’s reiterate what media quoted Joe saying,

“Joe Biden has said that Russia should be expelled from the G20 and that US and Nato would respond if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.”

Roll your eyes at the end of the clip. Joe being Joe does one of his “Oh I’m not supposed to tell you…” acting like the child he is and attempts to look important on a dangerous world stage.

If you were Vladmir Putin and watched Joey give that uninspiring claim that the U.S. (yes, he said “we”) and NATO would respond, what would you do?

I’d laugh my bloody head off at the screen. I would also say, and not stutter, “challenge accepted.” Putin is a crazed, tyrannical lunatic that has Mariupol by the throat and wants nothing more than to de-pants Biden and the U.S. on a world stage. He has no reason not to use chemical weapons, and is just crazy enough to do it. Why? Because Putin is a bully and Joe Biden just laid down a dare like a grade schooler on a playground.

The White House got wind of the reports that are “deeply concerning” and gave a dismissive remark about “posts in social media” regarding Russia’s use of chemical weapons.

“’ We are aware of social media reports which claim Russian forces deployed a potential chemical munition in Mariupol, Ukraine. We cannot confirm at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely,’ Defense Department spokesman John Kirby … ‘These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.’”

Welp, the reports are not from Twitter and Instagram. They are from a Ukrainian Parliament member and leaders in Ukraine’s National Guard. Albeit the Azoz Regiment is not an honorable bunch. They aren’t prolific on social media either.. This is a little more than a snarky meme shared on Facebook feeds. Yes, they are unconfirmed.

Unconfirmed, but compelling.

The big question, beyond the shattering news that the White House feels deep concern over this news—what does that do for the U.S.? Afterall, Joe said NATO and the U.S. would respond.

Biden said March 24 if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, NATO would respond ‘in kind,’ whatever that means. Now we have reports a Russian military drone dropped chemicals in Mariupol. Will NATO act or will Biden issue another strongly worded statement?

— Allan Erickson (@erickson_allan) April 11, 2022

Here’s a good idea along the lines of what Zelensky spelled out.

🛑 REPORT : RUSSIA USES CHEMICAL WEAPONS DISPERSED BY DRONES 🛑 What is it going to take for our administration to sanction Putin’s energy payments funding his killing machine? @ABlinken @JakeSullivan46 @SecYellen #RussianWarCrimes #PutinIsaWarCriminal #Russia https://t.co/PKNyR62BrT

— 🇺🇸Kyle Bass🇺🇦 (@Jkylebass) April 11, 2022

Zelensky knows the U.S. cannot enter this conflict. However, Zelensky does know that if the U.S. and NATO stop buying Russian oil, this war stops almost immediately. Funny enough, in a rare show of solidarity, Congress passed a bill banning Russian oil and gas imports a few days ago. Yes, the current Congress that can’t if we should get rid of Daylight-Saving time, yes that Congress, got their act together and are forcing Biden’s hand to sign it.

“Congress on Thursday passed a bill to ban imports of oil and gas from Russia, the latest measure in the U.S. government-wide effort to economically isolate and penalize the Kremlin for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Senate passed the legislation in a 100-0 vote earlier Thursday. The House then approved it in a 413-9 vote and sent it to President Joe Biden’s desk to sign into law.”

Stunner.

If the reports of chemical weapon use prove to be true, it’s Biden turn to make a move in this complex chess game.

Putin is sitting at his plush desk waiting for Biden’s move.

Featured Photo: War Damages in Mariupol 2022 via Wikimedia, by Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, CC by 4.0, cropped.