US Department of State: Russia used banned weapons

The use of chloropicrin was "likely motivated by a desire (...) to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield," the State Department said in a statement.

It announced that it would provide the US Congress with findings that the use of chloropicrin by Russia against Ukrainian soldiers constitutes a violation of the CWC. The ministry believes that Moscow's use of the gas "follows the same pattern as the operations to poison" opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020 and former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018 with the Novichok nerve agent.

Chloropicrin is on the list of banned substances of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was established to monitor compliance with the Convention.

War in Ukraine. Sanctions on Russian entities

The Ukrainian side claims that Russia is increasingly using illegal riot control agents in Ukraine. During demonstrations, civilians can escape the gas, but soldiers who are entrenched and do not have gas masks can either flee under enemy fire or risk suffocation.

The State Department also found that Russia had violated the CWC ban on the use of riot control agents during wartime. It also announced that it was imposing sanctions on three Russian state-owned entities linked to Moscow's chemical and biological weapons programs, including a specialized military unit that facilitated the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian soldiers. Sanctions were also imposed on four Russian companies that support these three entities.

Separately, the US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on three entities and two individuals involved in the purchase of materials for Russian military institutes involved in national chemical and biological weapons programs.

At OPCW meetings, Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of violating the treaty, but the OPCW says it has not been formally requested to open an investigation into the use of banned substances in Ukraine.