War in Ukraine: What is chloropicrin, the chemical weapon that Russia is accused of using?

The United States has accused Russia of using chemical weapons as a “method of warfare” in Ukraine, in violation of international laws that prohibit it.

State Department officials said Russia used the asphyxiant agent chloropicrin to achieve “battlefield victories.”

The alleged actions by Russian forces, which U.S. officials say do not constitute an “isolated” incident, would constitute a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which Russia signed.

The Kremlin has rejected the allegations, calling them “baseless.”

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a group of journalists in Moscow that Russia respected the CWC, which prohibits states from developing or acquiring new weapons.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global watchdog that oversees implementation of the CWC, says a chemical weapon is a substance used intentionally to cause death or harm through its toxic properties.

The United States says Russia is using chloropicrin to “dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions.”

The substance is oily and was used extensively during World War I.

It causes irritation to the lungs, eyes and skin and can cause vomiting, nausea and diarrhea, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC).

The use of this chemical in wartime is expressly prohibited by the CWC, as it is classified as an asphyxiating agent by the OPCW.

President Joe Biden has warned Russia against deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine.

In March 2022, weeks after launching the invasion of Moscow, Biden promised that President Vladimir Putin would pay a “severe price” if he authorized the use of these banned resources.

“We will respond if you use it. The nature of the response will depend on the nature of the use,” the US president said.

But according to some reports, Moscow ignored this warning.

U.S. Undersecretary for Arms Control Mallory Stewart previously said Russia used riot control chemical agents in the conflict.

And Ukraine says its troops have faced an increase in chemical attacks in recent months.

The Reuters news agency reported earlier this year that Russian forces used grenades loaded with CS and CN tear gas.

The report added that at least 500 Ukrainian soldiers were treated for exposure to toxic gas and one died of asphyxiation from tear gas.

Three Russian organizations linked to the country’s biological and chemical weapons program have been sanctioned by the State Department for their ties to the production of chemical agents.

Other companies that contributed to government entities were also sanctioned.

In 2017, the OPCW said Russia had destroyed the last stockpile of Cold War weapons, as required by the CWC.

But Moscow has since been accused of making incomplete statements about its reservations, according to the British House of Commons library.

Even since 2017, Russia has been singled out for at least two chemical attacks: the Salisbury attack on a former Soviet intelligence officer and the 2020 poisoning of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The indictments are part of a broader package of U.S. sanctions targeting 30 people, including three who multiple officials say were involved in Navalny’s death.

Russia denies any involvement in the death of the opposition leader. But Navalny’s widow accused President Putin of being responsible for his death.

Meanwhile, Russian forces in eastern Ukraine continue their advance ahead of Victory Day celebrations on May 9, a holiday commemorating the Soviet victory in World War II.

Much of the fighting took place around Chasiv Yar, a kyiv-controlled stronghold that Russia is trying to reach after seizing the town of Avdiivka.

Moscow wants to retake the city before next week’s vacation.

All this comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) cybersecurity department, Illya Vityuk, amid accusations that he tried to use his position to punish a Ukrainian journalist who had made allegations of corruption against him. .

The journalist was summoned to a military recruitment center, prompting army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi to open an investigation.

Separately, Human Rights Watch – a non-profit, non-governmental organization – called for a war crimes investigation after uncovering evidence that Russian forces executed more than a dozen surrendering Ukrainian soldiers.

The events are believed to have occurred between December 2023 and February 2024, the agency said in a statement.