Source of Picture: wikimedia
The United States has accused Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention by using toxic gases against Ukrainian forces. This comes a month after the US submitted its annual report on the non-compliance assessments of four states parties (including Russia and Syria) to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which demonstrates Russia’s cooperation with the Syrian regime in its chemical attacks since 2018.
In its report on May 1, 2024, the US State Department affirmed that Russia used tear gas and “chloropicrin” against Ukrainian forces, both of which are banned substances under the Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified by over 150 countries, including Russia.
The US State Department stated that it would impose sanctions on three government entities linked to Russian chemical and biological weapons programs and four supporting companies.
Chloropicrin, a nearly colorless oily liquid, causes severe irritation to the eyes, skin, and lungs. It was used in large quantities during World War I, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and although it continues to be used as a pesticide, its use in warfare is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the US accusations against Russia regarding the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian armed forces as unfounded. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov described the accusations against Russian forces using chemical weapons as “odious and baseless.”
Ukrainian support forces accused Russian forces of using ammunition with chemical substances in a “systematic” manner, especially after recording 371 suspected cases of Russian forces using chemical weapons in March, about seven times the number from the previous year. Ukrainian authorities also reported 1412 suspected cases of Russian use of chemical weapons on the battlefield since the start of the comprehensive invasion in February 2022.
In turn, the director of the Chemical Violations Documentation Center in Syria, Nidal Sheikhani, affirmed that the Assad regime’s impunity for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, with direct support and protection from Russia, has encouraged Moscow to continue violating international humanitarian law and the Chemical Weapons Convention, while warning of the widening use of these internationally banned weapons.
The US State Department, in its annual report on April 4, 2024, regarding non-compliance assessments of four state parties (Russia, Syria, Iran, and Burma) to the Chemical Weapons Convention, confirmed that Russia had used chemical weapons at least twice between 2018 and 2020, once in Ukraine and in Syria while assisting the Syrian regime in shelling the town of Douma in the Damascus countryside with chlorine gas in 2018.
The United States accused Russia of non-compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention due to its failure to provide complete declarations of chemical weapons production facilities, chemical weapons development facilities, and chemical weapons stockpiles. The report also mentioned Russian scientific institutes conducting research and development of chemical weapons capabilities, including techniques for deploying chemical weapons, and Russia conducting tests related to chemical weapons.
The report confirmed that Russian forces and activities in Syria helped the Syrian regime cover up the use of chemical weapons after the Ghouta attack on April 7, 2018. Russia retained a joint operations room with Syria and Iran responsible for the war strategy and coordination in Syria while Syrian forces repeatedly used chemical weapons.
The Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria emphasizes the necessity of actual implementation and full compliance with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which calls for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, possession, stockpiling, or transfer and use of chemical weapons by state parties.
The Convention also obliges state parties not to assist, encourage, or induce anyone in any way to engage in activities prohibited by the Convention.
The Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria stresses the importance of holding all parties involved in the use of chemical weapons for hostile purposes accountable and achieving justice for the victims and their families.
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