Russia said the issue was being used by the US and its allies as a “pretext” to attack Syria. A Downing Street statement suggested some UK caution by continuing to state the chemical weapons attack had not yet been confirmed. After Trump hinted heavily on Monday that he was on the verge of ordering airstrikes, the US-Russian struggle shifted back once more to the UN security council. Russia vetoed a US resolution creating a new independent investigative mechanism for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, arguing that it would become a propaganda tool of the west. The US navy has less firepower in the eastern Mediterranean than it did when Trump ordered punitive missile strikes for chemical weapons use in April last year.

Source: The Guardian April 10, 2018 12:46 UTC