The United States has officially accused Russia of violating the international prohibition on chemical weapons by employing the asphyxiating agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian military personnel and utilizing riot control agents as a method of warfare within Ukrainian territories.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the State Department asserted that the utilization of such chemical agents represents not an isolated occurrence but rather a calculated tactic by Russian forces to dislodge Ukrainian troops from fortified positions and gain tactical advantages on the battlefield. This announcement also accompanied the imposition of new sanctions targeting entities associated with Russia's comprehensive invasion of Ukraine.
Chloropicrin, characterized as a nearly colorless oily liquid inducing severe irritation to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, had extensive use during World War I, as documented by the United States' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. While still employed as an agricultural pesticide, its deployment in armed conflict is prohibited under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Despite Russia's assertions of lacking a military chemical arsenal, international scrutiny persists regarding its alleged deployment of toxic substances. Alongside chloropicrin, reports indicate the use of grenades containing CS and CN gases by Russian forces, resulting in significant harm to Ukrainian soldiers, with hundreds requiring medical treatment and fatalities reported due to exposure, including suffocation from tear gas.
Gyundoz Mamedov, the former deputy prosecutor general of Ukraine, highlighted on social media the extensive use of tear gas by the Russian army against Ukrainian forces, citing numerous incidents over recent months and since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Such chemical tactics pose severe challenges for soldiers confined to trenches without adequate protective gear, compelling them to either retreat under enemy fire or face the risk of asphyxiation.
The State Department underscored Moscow's deployment of chloropicrin and its persistent disregard for the CWC, drawing parallels to previous incidents such as the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the Skripal family with Novichok nerve agents. Navalny's sudden demise in February, following Novichok poisoning in 2020, and the Skripals' survival of a 2018 assassination attempt in the United Kingdom, attributed to the Russian state, underscore the gravity of such chemical warfare allegations.
The US government announced sanctions targeting three Russian state entities linked to chemical and biological weapons programs, including a specialized military unit implicated in the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, along with four supporting Russian companies. These sanctions entail asset freezes and restrictions on business dealings with the designated entities.
Additionally, the US Treasury implemented sanctions against three entities and two individuals involved in procuring items for Russian military institutes engaged in chemical and biological weapons programs. These measures constitute part of broader punitive actions against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the production and use of chemical weapons and mandates the destruction of banned chemical stockpiles by its member states, which encompass both Russia and the United States. Disputes over alleged treaty violations between Russia and Ukraine have been raised in Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) forums, with concerns expressed regarding the reported use of chemical weapons during the assault on Mariupol port in 2022. However, no formal investigation requests regarding prohibited substance usage in Ukraine have been submitted to the OPCW.
Comments
Post a Comment