The US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

The US State Department claims that Russia must have used the chlorpicrin warfare gas, which causes people to suffocate, writes Reuters.

It is said to be the same type of gas that German forces used against the Allies during the First World War, at the time one of the world’s first uses of chemical weapons.

Ukraine: 500 soldiers hit

At least 500 Ukrainian soldiers have received treatment after being exposed to toxic substances, according to Ukrainian authorities.

There is an international ban on chemical weapons in war.

The US claims that Russia’s use of gas is “taken from the same textbook as the poisoning operations” against opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in 2020, and against double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018.

The two were poisoned with the nerve agent Novitsjok. Russia denies having anything to do with any of the cases.

Russia refuses

Russian authorities deny the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

– We have seen the news about this. As always, such accusations are baseless, says spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, Dimitry Peskov, writes AFP.

The news agency AFP also writes that the official Russia claims that it no longer has any stockpile of chemical weapons.

Reuters writes on Thursday morning that the Russian embassy in Washington has not yet responded to the news agency’s request for a comment.

Russia and Ukraine have also previously accused each other of the production and use of chemical weapons, writes Reuters.

International ban

Ever since 1993, there has been an international ban on the use of chemical weapons.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was then established to monitor compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

The CWC prohibits the production and use of chemical weapons and requires the 193 countries that have ratified it, including Russia and the United States, to destroy their stockpiles of banned chemicals.

The accusations from Russia and Ukraine have come up in OPCW meetings several times.

The organization says it has not been formally asked to open an investigation into the possible use of banned chemicals in Ukraine.

USA: Not isolated incidents

– The use of such chemicals are not isolated incidents and are probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to expel Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical progress on the battlefield, says a statement from the US State Department.

Chlorpicrin is listed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as a prohibited asphyxiation gas, NTB writes.

The Ukrainian defense claims to Reuters that Russia has stepped up its illegal use of so-called riot control agents.

In addition to chlorpicrin, Russian forces have used tear gas grenades, according to Ukraine.

While protesters who are exposed to tear gas can leave the scene and break up, soldiers stuck in trenches without gas masks are forced to either flee while they may be fired upon by the enemy or risk suffocation.

New sanctions

On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a wide range of new sanctions against Russia.

Among the sanctions are punitive measures aimed at the Russian arms industry, including the program for the production of chemical weapons, writes the Associated Press.

– The sanctions will disrupt and damage the Russian war effort in Ukraine by affecting the arms industry and those who contribute to arms production in Russia, says Yellen.