The West fears that this information will be used by Russia to develop a chemical attack.
One of the largest providers of meteorological data, EUMETSAT, has stopped sharing data with Russia, as experts say Russia could use the information to develop and carry out biological or chemical attacks in Ukraine . This was reported by Reuters.
The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), an intergovernmental organization based in Germany, has said it is terminating Russian users' licenses and no longer operating under a bilateral cooperation agreement with Russia's leading meteorological agency. As of today, the entire flow of data exchange has been stopped. It was decided not to speak publicly about the reasons for this decision.
After EUMETSAT, there are no more counterparties to supply such information to Russia after its treacherous invasion of Ukraine.
EUMETSAT works with a technical infrastructure that allows, in some cases, the exchange of meteorological data among its recipients almost instantly.
Prior to Tuesday's decision, EUMETSAT said it had stopped sending data from EU satellites to Russia and Belarus on instructions from the European Commission, but continued to transmit information from other European satellites to the two countries, as well as meteorological observations from governments around the world.
Some Western arms experts have clarified that there is a risk of using meteorological data provided by EUMETSAT for military purposes. In particular, for planning chemical and biological attacks prohibited by international law.
“If, hypothetically, you are planning an attack in which you spray a cloud of chemicals or pathogens, you will need to take meteorological data into account. You would not want this thing to hit you on your own! ”Wrote Philippa Lenzos, a biological threat expert and senior lecturer at King's College London, in a comment to Reuters.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an expert on chemical weapons and a visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge in Britain, also said that weather data were “absolutely important” when using chemical and biological weapons.
The representative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that Ukraine had sent a letter to WMO to express its concern about the exchange of EUMETSAT data with Russia.
Read also: What to do in case of chemical hazards: explanation of the Ministry of Environment
It will be recalled that US President Joe Biden will attend the NATO summit on March 24. They will discuss the West's reaction to Russia's possible use of chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine .
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