The accusation has been made by the United States, claiming that Russia is employing chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
According to US officials, Russia violated the global ban on chemical weapons by utilizing chloropicrin, a choking agent, against Ukrainian soldiers. Additionally, they accused Russian forces of using riot control agents as a tactic of warfare in Ukraine.
In a statement issued by the State Department on Wednesday, it was noted, “The utilization of these chemicals is not an isolated occurrence, likely motivated by Russian forces’ aim to displace Ukrainian troops from fortified positions and gain tactical advantages on the battlefield.”
Reports from Aljazeera reveal that the State Department criticized Moscow’s use of chloropicrin, highlighting its continuous disregard for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with comparisons to previous poisoning incidents involving nerve agents.
In response to these allegations, the US also declared imposing new sanctions on entities associated with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Chloropicrin, an almost colorless oily liquid known for causing severe irritation to the eyes, skin, and lungs, saw extensive usage during World War I but is currently banned for military use under the 1993 CWC.
While Russia maintains that it no longer possesses military chemical weapons, the country faces mounting pressure for transparency concerning its alleged deployment of toxic substances.
Aside from chloropicrin, Russian forces are reported to have employed grenades containing CS and CN gases, resulting in over 500 Ukrainian soldiers requiring treatment for exposure to these harmful substances. Tragically, one soldier reportedly succumbed to tear gas-induced suffocation.
Gyundoz Mamedov, Ukraine’s former deputy prosecutor general, claimed on social media that tear gas had been used by the Russian army against Ukrainian troops approximately 900 times in the previous six months, escalating to over 1,400 incidents since the initiation of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
While civilians can usually avoid such gases during protests, soldiers without gas masks confined in trenches are left with the dilemma of fleeing amidst enemy fire or risking asphyxiation.