A UK government minister has raised concerns that Vladimir Putin may use chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Liz Truss's warning came during an interview with American news station CNN after Russia bombed a children's hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol.
The foreign secretary said it would be a "grave mistake' for Putin to take that course of action, The Mirror reports, adding it would add to a number of errors made since the invasion.
Ms Truss told CNN: "We are very concerned about the use of chemical weapons. Now of course we've seen Russia use these weapons before.
"That would be a grave mistake on the part of Russia adding to the grave mistakes that have already been made by Putin."
Yesterday an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “We’re seeing some of the disinformation come out of Moscow about non-conventional weapons.
“We saw this in Syria, the Russians starting that talk when they or their proxies were about to use those weapons there.”
Worries are mounting among allied governments after Moscow was seen “setting the scene” for such an attack.
Russia-backed Syria was repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons in the country's bloody war, but Russia vetoed a 2017 UN resolution that would have looked into who was responsible.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found people were exposed to sarin gas in 2017 in the Khan Shaykhun area but did not identify who was responsible.
Boris Johnson branded Russia "depraved" after Ukraine accused Putin's forces of bombing a children's and maternity hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol - during a supposed ceasefire to let civilians escape.
The city council warned "the destruction is colossal", while President Volodymr Zelensky called it an "atrocity".
