The United States has alleged that Russia violated the worldwide prohibition on chemical weapons by employing chloropicrin, a choking agent, against Ukrainian soldiers. Additionally, they have deployed riot control agents in Ukraine as a strategic tactic, constituting a breach of international regulations on warfare.
According to a statement from the State Department on Wednesday, these actions are not singular occurrences but rather part of a pattern driven by Russian forces’ aims to oust Ukrainian troops from fortified positions and secure tactical advantages on the battlefield. The statement also disclosed new sanctions targeting entities associated with Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine.
Chloropicrin, an almost transparent oily substance known for its severe irritant effects on the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, saw extensive utilization during World War I, as reported by the US National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
Despite its ongoing use as an agricultural pesticide, the deployment of chloropicrin in warfare is prohibited under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Russia has claimed to have dismantled its military chemical arsenal. However, the nation is under scrutiny for lacking transparency regarding its suspected involvement with toxic chemicals.
According to a report from the Reuters news agency, Russian forces have utilized grenades containing CS and CN gases, along with chloropicrin. The Ukrainian military disclosed that over 500 Ukrainian soldiers required treatment due to exposure to these toxic substances, with one fatality reported due to suffocation from tear gas inhalation.
Gyundoz Mamedov, Ukraine’s former deputy prosecutor general until 2021, took to social media on April 24 to reveal that tear gas had been deployed by the Russian army against Ukrainian forces approximately 900 times in the past six months. This accounts for over 1,400 incidents since the commencement of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In protests, civilians can often evade exposure to such gases, but soldiers entrenched without gas masks face a dilemma: either retreat amidst enemy fire or risk suffocation.
The State Department pointed out that Moscow’s utilization of chloropicrin and its persistent disregard for the Chemical Weapons Convention mirrors its tactics seen in previous incidents, such as the poisoning of Aleksei Navalny and Sergei and Yulia Skripal with Novichok nerve agents.
Navalny, who died suddenly in an Arctic prison colony in February, was poisoned with Novichok in 2020.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence agent given asylum in the United Kingdom, survived an assassination attempt in 2018 that also almost killed his daughter. A British police officer who investigated the case also became severely ill while Dawn Sturgess, a woman who was inadvertently given the discarded bottle that contained the poison, died four months later after spraying herself with the liquid thinking it was a perfume.
The British government concluded that the Russian state was “almost certainly” behind the attack.
Navalny, who passed away suddenly in a remote Arctic prison facility back in February, was determined to have been poisoned with Novichok in 2020.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence operative who had sought asylum in the United Kingdom, narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 2018, which also endangered the life of his daughter. A British law enforcement officer who probed the incident fell severely ill. Tragically, Dawn Sturgess, after inadvertently coming into contact with the discarded container of the poison, mistook it for perfume and later succumbed to its effects four months later.
The British government firmly asserted that the Russian state was “highly likely” responsible for orchestrating the attack.
Moscow has consistently denied any involvement in both the Skripal and Navalny poisonings.
The United States has issued a statement announcing sanctions against three Russian state entities connected to Moscow’s chemical and biological weapons programs. Among them is a specialized military unit implicated in the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops. Additionally, four Russian companies supporting these entities have been sanctioned. These measures entail freezing any US assets tied to the targeted entities and generally prohibit Americans from engaging in business transactions with them.
Furthermore, the US Treasury has imposed sanctions on three entities and two individuals engaged in procuring items for Russian military institutes involved in the nation’s chemical and biological weapons programs. These sanctions are part of a broader set of measures aimed at addressing Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) prohibits the production and use of chemical weapons, requiring the destruction of any banned chemical stocks by its 193 ratified member countries, which include both Russia and the US. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating the treaty in Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) meetings.
In 2022, the OPCW expressed concerns regarding reports of Russia’s use of chemical weapons in its assault on the port city of Mariupol, but it has not received any formal requests to initiate investigations into the use of prohibited substances in Ukraine.
