Foreign Minister Marise Payne has described reports of a Russian chemical weapons attack in Ukraine as a “wholesale breach of international law”.
Overnight, Ukrainian forces claimed Russia used an “unknown” poisonous substance causing victims to suffer from respiratory failure.
While the reports have yet to be confirmed, The UK’s Ministry of Defence phosphorus munitions had already used in the Donetsk region.
“(The prior use) raises the possibility of their future employment in Mariupol as fighting for the city intensifies,” it said.
Speaking to reporters in western Sydney, Senator Payne said if confirmed it would be a further acknowledgment Russia did not value the rule of law.
“If they are confirmed, that will be a further wholesale breach of international law,” Senator Payne said.
“[It will be] a further indication of President Putin and Russia's absolute violation of every single value, and every aspect of the rules-based global order which has stood us in such good stead for so many decades now.”
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has warned Russian forces could use phosphorus munitions in the besieged port city of Mariupol, warning it had already used chemical weapons in the Donetsk region.
Senator Payne said Australia would be working with its counterparts to confirm the veracity of the reports.
Asked about the sanctions slapped on Australian politicians by Russia, Scott Morrison branded it a “badge of honour”.
“I have copped a lot of criticism, not just from Russia, but from countries in our own region,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“Australians know I’m not a pushover.”
It comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed tens of thousands had been killed in Mariupol.
“Mariupol has been destroyed, there are tens of thousands of dead, but even despite this, the Russians are not stopping their offensive,” he said in a video address to South Korean MPs.
