The United States has leveled serious accusations against Russia, asserting that Moscow has violated the international ban on chemical weapons through its military actions in Ukraine. According to State Department statements, Russian forces have deployed the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, a substance banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The allegation posits that the use of such chemicals is a strategic move by Russia to displace Ukrainian soldiers from fortified positions, aiming for tactical advantages on the battlefield. This breach is not seen as an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate tactic, likened by the U.S. to Russia’s operations involving the poisoning of opposition figures such as Alexei Navalny and Sergei Skripal, which Moscow has denied.
Chloropicrin, historically used during World War I by German forces, is listed as a prohibited choking agent by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Alongside chloropicrin, the Ukrainian military has also reported the use of grenades filled with CS and CN gases, riot control agents, which have affected at least 500 Ukrainian soldiers, including one fatality due to suffocation on tear gas. The use of these gases in warfare poses a grave threat to soldiers who may lack adequate protective gear, forcing them to choose between potential suffocation and exposure to enemy fire.
In response to these alleged violations, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on three Russian state entities linked to Moscow’s chemical and biological weapons programs. This includes a specialized military unit accused of facilitating the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops. Additionally, four Russian companies that support these entities have been sanctioned, with measures including asset freezes and general prohibitions on business with the targeted entities.
Moreover, the U.S. Treasury has implemented sanctions on three entities and two individuals accused of purchasing items for Russian military institutes engaged in the country’s chemical and biological weapons programs. These sanctions are part of broader measures introduced by the United States, targeting Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022.
While the CWC bans the production and use of chemical weapons, requiring the 193 countries that have ratified the convention to destroy any stocks of banned chemicals, enforcement remains a complex issue. The U.S. has communicated its determination that Russia has violated the CWC to Congress and is expected to convey this finding to the OPCW. Despite mutual accusations between Russia and Ukraine regarding breaches of the treaty in OPCW meetings, the organization has not yet been formally asked to open an investigation into the alleged use of prohibited substances in the Ukraine conflict.
Relevant articles:
– Russia Breached Global Chemical Weapons Ban In Ukraine War, U.S. Says, rferl.org, 05/02/2024
– Russia breached global chemical weapons ban in Ukraine war, US says, Voice of America – VOA News, 05/01/2024
– Ukraine war: Russia breached global chemical weapons ban, US says, South China Morning Post, 05/01/2024
– US claims global chemical weapons ban breach by Russia in Ukraine war, India Today, 05/01/2024
– US Accuses Russia Of Violating International Chemical Weapons Ban In Ukraine, Zee News, 05/02/2024