Ukraine's Zelenskyy warns Russia is capable of chemical attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday dismissed Russian allegations of biowarfare labs in Ukraine and said they showed that Russia was "capable" of chemical attacks.

Russia has made repeated accusations that the United States is working with Ukrainian laboratories to develop biological weapons. Such assertions in Russian media increased in the run-up to Moscow's military move into Ukraine and were made as recently as Wednesday by foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Speaking in a televised address, Zelenskyy said he worried the allegations meant that Russia might be prepared to deploy chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The United States on Wednesday said the Russian accusations were "laughable" and suggested Moscow could be laying the groundwork to use a chemical or biological weapon — worries that were also shared by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday.