“Russia’s cruel and inhumane tactics on the front are despicable”said the head of British diplomacy, David Lammy.
The United Kingdom sanctioned General Igor Kirilov this Tuesday, October 8Chief of Radionuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense of the Russian Army pour “the deployment of barbaric chemical weapons in Ukraine”reported AFP.
“Russian forces openly admitted to using dangerous chemical weapons on the battlefield“denounced the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, “with widespread use of riot control substances. There are multiple reports of the use of chloropicrinea toxic suffocating agent first used during the First World War. he said in a press release.
This is a “Russia’s blatant disregard for the Chemical Weapons Convention”according to the Foreign Office.
Two Russian army research institutes also sanctioned
The people and entities targeted by the British sanctions are General Igor Kirilov – which sees its assets frozen on British soil – as well as the radionuclear, biological and chemical Defense force of the Russian army in its entirety. Two Russian army research institutes are also affected. Furthermore, according to London, Igor Kirilov is “a leading Kremlin disinformation mouthpiece spreading lies to cover up Russia’s shameful and dangerous behavior”.
“London will not stand idly by”
London “will not stand idly by while Putin and his mafia state flout international law, notably the Chemical Weapons Convention”declared the head of British diplomacy, David Lammy. “Russia’s cruel and inhumane actions on the battlefield are abhorrent and I will use the full arsenal of powers at my disposal to counter the Kremlin’s attempts to sow fear, division and chaos“, he stressed.
Russia has been repeatedly accused of violating the Convention on the prohibition of the development, manufacture, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons (CIAC). In May 2024, the US government claimed that Moscow was using chloropicrin (a stifling agent) against Ukrainian troops in violation of the CIAC, yet ratified by the Kremlin which denies possessing a chemical arsenal. But the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had judged “insufficiently supported” the assumptions made by the American state regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
