The US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine

SOCIETY

A soldier during a military exercise in Ukraine's Kharkiv region in February.

Andrii Marienko/AP/TT

Russia has used combat gas against Ukrainian forces, the US claims. Thus, according to the United States, Russian forces have committed a crime against the Chemical Weapons Convention, which the majority of UN member states have ratified – including Russia.

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It is about the combat gas chloropicrin, also called trichloronitromethane, which was used as a chemical warfare agent during, among other things, the First World War but has since been banned.

The substance is highly toxic and causes, among other things, a feeling of suffocation and vomiting.

In addition, according to the American accusations, Russia has used tear gas on the battlefield in Ukraine, reports CNN. It also violates the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was adopted in 1993 and entered into force in 1997.

“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is likely driven by the desire of Russian forces to drive Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical success on the battlefield,” the US State Department said in a statement.

Ukrainian soldiers have been sounding the alarm about Russian chemical weapons for months. In March, Ukraine's military said it had recorded over 1,000 incidents in which Russia used “tear gas munitions equipped with toxic chemicals prohibited in warfare”.

Lack of analyses

The American accusations came in connection with Wednesday's announcement of new sanctions against around 300 companies and individuals in Russia and China, among others, which are said to be supporting the war. The sanctions are also aimed at Russian authorities and companies that are said to be involved in the country's program for chemical and biological weapons.

Russia has previously claimed that it no longer possesses a chemical weapons arsenal.

In a report in February, the Total Defense Research Institute (FOI) stated that “chemical weapons are likely to have occurred in the warfare in Ukraine”, but that due to the lack of chemical analyses, it is difficult to verify the use of chlorpicrin in particular.

FACTS

Chlorpicrin

Chloropicrin or trichloronitromethane is an oily, volatile liquid with a boiling point of 112 degrees.

It is almost completely insoluble in water but soluble in most organic solvents.

The substance is explosive and highly toxic and can cause irritation to the lungs, eyes and skin. Exposure can lead to headaches and muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea that can last for weeks. Chest pains, bowel problems and damage to the gastrointestinal system have also been reported.

Chlorpicrin was used as a chemical warfare agent in the First World War, but is no longer approved for military use and is now used – on a small scale – as a pesticide mainly against animals underground. Within the EU, however, chlorpicrin is prohibited in agriculture, but permitted and widely used in, for example, the USA.

The substance is also used as tear gas, then under the name PS-gas.

Source: United States Health Authority CDC, Total Defense Research Institute (FOI).