Russia has denied allegations of breaching the worldwide chemical weapons ban by deploying chocking brokers in opposition to Ukrainian troops.
The Kremlin on Thursday responded to claims by the USA that it had used choking agent chloropicrin in opposition to Ukrainian troops – the identical agent utilized by German forces in opposition to Allied troops in the course of the First World Battle.
The US additionally accused Russia of utilizing riot management brokers “as a technique of warfare” in Ukraine, which in line with Ukrainian navy cited by Reuters earlier this month, is being more and more used within the nation.
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Grenades containing CS and CN gases have additionally reportedly been used on the frontline, forcing troops caught in trenches to both flee below enemy fireplace or danger suffocating.
Not less than 500 Ukrainian troops have been handled for publicity to a poisonous substance, the navy mentioned, with one dying because of suffocating on tear fuel.
The US State Division believes Russia has been violating worldwide guidelines on chemical weapons below the 1993 Chemical Weapons Conference (CWC).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned Moscow remained sure by its obligations below the treaty.
“The usage of such chemical substances shouldn’t be an remoted incident and might be pushed by Russian forces’ need to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and obtain tactical good points on the battlefield,” the US State Division mentioned in an announcement.
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Chloropicrin is listed as a banned choking agent by the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which was created to implement and monitor compliance with the 1993 Chemical Weapons Conference.
In accordance with the US, Moscow’s use of the fuel “comes from the identical playbook as its operations to poison” the late opposition chief Alexei Navalny in 2020 and Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in 2018 with the Novichok nerve agent.
Russia denied involvement in each {cases}.