The US State Department confirms Russia's use of chemical agents against the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
US confirmed Russia's use of chemical substances against Ukrainian soldiers
The use of chemical agents against Ukraine is mentioned in a statement justifying new sanctions against Russia.
The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is likely caused by the desire of Russian troops to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical advantages on the battlefield, the statement said.
At the same time, the State Department is submitting to the US Congress a decision under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Combatant Command Act of 1991 (CWC Act) regarding Russia's use of the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.
In accordance with the CWC Act, the Department is reimposing restrictions on foreign military financing, lines of credit to the US government, and export licences for defence articles and national security sensitive items going to Russia.
The State Department also imposed sanctions on three Russian state-owned organisations linked to Russia's chemical and biological weapons programmes and four Russian companies that contributed to such organisations:
Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of the Russian Ministry of Defence,
Research Institute of Applied Acoustics,
The 48th Central Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Defence, which are involved in the development of chemical weapons.
Use of chemical weapons against the Ukrainian Armed Forces: what is known
In April, The Telegraph reported that Ukrainian soldiers from several positions along the frontline were talking about the use of chemical weapons against them.
Even if these gas attacks are not lethal, they usually cause panic, and the first instinct of the military is to come out of cover, but then they may be attacked with conventional weapons.
On 5 April, the Strategic Communications Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that over the past month, Ukraine has recorded almost 400 cases of Russia's use of banned chemicals.
This is 90 cases more than in the previous period.
As of April, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 1412 cases of Russian use of chemical weapons have been recorded.
More on the topic
- Category
- Ukraine
- Publication date
- Додати до обраного
