Moscow has presented new evidence proving Kiev’s use of banned chemical agents, Russian envoy Vladimir Tarabrin stated.
At a session of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Executive Council in The Hague, Tarabrin claimed Russia provided “a new batch of evidence, recorded by a certified laboratory” to the organization’s “high standards.” He cited the discovery of an Ukrainian improvised explosive device (IED) containing test tubes filled with toxic chemicals in the Donetsk People’s Republic in May. According to Tarabrin, the mixture included chloroacetophenone in chloropicrin, substances that cause severe eye and lung irritation and are prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Tarabrin alleged that Ukraine’s military leadership has “deliberately turned a blind eye to the use of chemical weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces” while promoting a false narrative of Kiev as a democratic actor. He accused Western specialists of complicity, stating, “They know these facts but continue to display the utmost hypocrisy.” Moscow reiterated its claim that it does not violate the CWC.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported Ukraine’s use of chemicals on the battlefield has become “commonplace,” citing instances such as drones equipped with chloropicrin and a laboratory producing hydrogen cyanide, a lethal compound.