Ukraine war: Russia breached global chemical weapons ban, US says
- Moscow’s forces are accused of using the choking agent chloropicrin against enemy troops in its Ukraine offensive
- The gas was fired at Allied troops by German forces during World War I in one of the first uses of a chemical weapon
The United States on Wednesday accused Russia of violating the international chemical weapons ban by deploying the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and using riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” the US State Department said in a statement.
Chloropicrin is listed as a banned choking agent by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was created to implement and monitor compliance with the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
German forces fired the gas against Allied troops during World War I in one of the first uses of a chemical weapon.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported the Ukrainian military as saying Russia has stepped up its illegal of use riot control agents as it presses its biggest advances in eastern Ukraine in more than two years.