US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons against Ukraine

The US State Department announced this Thursday that it has concluded that Russia has used chemical weapons with agents that constitute a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and will impose sanctions on those responsible.

The United States determined that Russia has used chloropicrin, a pesticide used as an asphyxiant gas in World War I and banned internationally, in Ukraine. For this reason, new sanctions have been imposed on individuals and organizations related to this use of chemical weapons.

“We make this determination, in addition to our conclusion that Russia has used riot control agents as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also a violation of the CWC,” the State Department said.

The United States considers that the use of this chemical weaponry is not an isolated use and “is probably driven by the desire of Russian forces to expel Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical advances on the battlefield.”

The Kremlin was quick to respond to these accusations by rejecting what was raised by the United States. “We have seen the news about it. As always, such accusations sound completely unfounded and baseless,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the accusations. “Russia has been and remains committed to its obligations under international law,” Peskov declared this Thursday. Source: news

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