Russia used a chemical agent in Ukraine, accuses the US: “It is not an isolated incident”

The United States accuses Russia of using a chemical agent, chloropicrin, against Ukrainian forces, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), according to a statement from the State Department.

In addition, Russia is using anti-riot agents as a “method of war in Ukraine, also in violation of the convention”, the US diplomacy added in this text.

“The use of these chemical substances is not an isolated incident and is probably motivated by the desire of Russian forces to remove Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and to make tactical progress on the battlefield,” wrote the State Department, quoted by Agerpres.

Washington simultaneously announced on Wednesday a new wave of sanctions targeting Russian or foreign companies or individuals accused of participating in the Russian war effort in the invasion of Ukraine. In addition to Russian defense companies, as well as Chinese entities, these sanctions target several research units and companies involved in Russian chemical and biological weapons programs.

“Russia’s permanent disregard for its obligations under the CIAC follows the same logic as the poisoning operations of Aleksey Navalny, as well as of Sergei and Yulia Skripal with Novichok-type neurotoxic agents,” the State Department continued. Aleksei Navalnyi, former opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who died on February 16, was the victim of a serious poisoning that he attributed to the Kremlin.

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal were poisoned in England in 2018.

Russia has said it no longer has a military chemical arsenal, but the country is facing pressure for more transparency about its alleged use of toxic weapons.

According to the US Institutes of Health (NIH), chloropicrin is a chemical that has been used as an agent of war and as a pesticide and, if inhaled, poses a health risk.

Publisher: GM

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