The United States has accused Russia of using chemical weapons, including poison gas, as a “method of warfare” against Ukrainian forces, violating a global ban on the use of such weapons.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that Russia used chloropicrin, a “suffocating agent” widely used during World War I, as well as tear gas against Ukrainian troops. The use of these gases in warfare is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms control treaty ratified by more than 150 countries, including Russia.
The U.S. State Department said: “The use of such chemicals was not an isolated incident and may have been driven by the Russian military’s desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from their defenses and achieve tactical victory on the battlefield.” This year, Russia has been slowly and steadily They broke through the defense lines in eastern Ukraine and captured several towns and villages.
The U.S. State Department also stated that the United States will impose sanctions on three national entities related to Russia’s biological and chemical weapons programs and four companies that support these programs.
Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said in a message on the Telegram messaging app that allegations that Russian troops used chemical weapons were “disgusting and unsubstantiated.”
Ukrainian authorities have reported about 1,400 cases of suspected Russian use of chemical weapons on the battlefield since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and say the rate has accelerated as Moscow continues to launch attacks on the front lines.
Major Anastasia Bobovnikova, public affairs officer of the Ukrainian Army Support Force, said that 371 cases of suspected use of chemical weapons by Russian troops were reported in March, which was approximately seven times the number in the same period last year.
According to several field medics and soldiers, the use of toxic agents often coincides with periods of intense fighting when Russian forces drive Ukrainian troops from heavily fortified positions.
Fighting around the city of Avdivka in eastern Ukraine is accelerating this winter, but Russia is making little progress. Medical personnel at frontline stabilization points say Russian troops use chloropicrin, which can severely irritate the nose, throat and lungs when inhaled. department.
The effects were so horrific that soldiers suffered skin burning, vomiting and other debilitating symptoms, said Olena, 38, the station’s head nurse, who gave only her first name in compliance with military regulations. Unable to fight.
Major Bobovnikova said most of the chemicals used in the attacks have been identified as CS and CN, the tear gas most commonly used by riot police to control crowds.
While governments use tear gas for domestic law enforcement purposes, it is considered a chemical weapon when used in war, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the executive arm of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Civilians can usually escape tear gas during protests, but soldiers in the trenches have no choice but to flee under enemy fire or risk suffocation.
Former Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Gyunduz Mamedov said last week Russian troops have used tear gas against Ukrainian troops at least 900 times in the past six months, with more than 1,400 incidents reported since the war began.
Major Bobovnikova said the chemicals were often contained in grenades thrown by Russian troops into Ukrainian positions, forcing soldiers from their defensive positions. The Ukrainian military lacks adequate protective equipment against chemical attacks.
Rebekah Maciorowski, an American combat medic who has been operating out of Avdiivka, a Ukrainian stronghold captured by Russian forces in February, said the gas was used against her troops on multiple occasions. And all 200 masks issued by the force have been put into use.
One private asked to reveal his call sign, Croissant, because his parents lived in occupied territory. Said a can was thrown on the ground.
He said they didn’t hear the usual explosion from a grenade as the object fell, and, fearing it was poison gas, he and his comrades quickly put on gas masks, but he took a deep breath before putting them on. One breath.
“I breathed it in and I immediately felt it burning,” he said. “I remember my training was to close my eyes.”
The 59th Brigade presented evidence it said was later collected from the scene showing canisters used to deliver the gas. This incident could not be independently confirmed.
The Institute for War Studies, a Washington-based think tank, reported in December that Russian forces fighting near the southern city of Kherson had said on social media that they were using drones to drop K-51s filled with CS gas on Ukrainians. Sol grenade.
The U.S. State Department said Russia ignored its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention by poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and former Russian Sergei Skripa, who died in a Russian prison in February. Your actions “come from the same playbook.”
“Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia will have serious consequences,” foreign ministers attending last month’s G7 summit said in a statement.
carlotta gal, Alexander Chubuko Liubov Sholudko contributed reporting.
