Russia has denied accusations of violating the international ban on chemical weapons by deploying asphyxiating agents against Ukrainian troops.
The Kremlin responded Thursday to U.S. claims that it had used the asphyxiating agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, the same agent used by German forces against Allied troops during World War I.
The United States also accused Russia of using riot control agents “as a method of war” in Ukrainewhich according to the Ukrainian military cited by Reuters earlier this month, is being increasingly used in the country.
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Grenades containing CS and CN gases have also reportedly been used on the front line, forcing troops trapped in trenches to flee under enemy fire or risk suffocation.
At least 500 Ukrainian soldiers have been treated for exposure to a toxic substance, the military said, and one of them died from asphyxiation by tear gas.
The US State Department believes Russia has been violating international standards on chemical weapons under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow continued to fulfill its obligations under the treaty.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is likely driven by the desire of Russian forces to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and make tactical gains on the battlefield,” the US State Department said. United in a statement.
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Chloropicrin is listed as a banned asphyxiating agent by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which was created to implement and monitor compliance with the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
According to the United States, Moscow’s use of the gas “follows the same playbook as its operations to poison” the late opposition leader. Alexei Navalny in 2020 and Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018 with the nerve agent Novichok.
Russia denied involvement in both cases.