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He added that Russia had also used “riot control agents” or tear gas during the war in violation of the CWC.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and was probably provoked by the desire of Russian forces to dislodge Ukrainian forces from entrenched positions and achieve tactical successes on the battlefield,” the statement said.
The US conclusion is consistent with testimony from Ukrainian soldiers who say they have faced increased clashes with gas and other chemical irritants on parts of their front line with Russian forces in recent months.
In a statement posted on social media in March, Ukraine’s armed forces said they had recorded more than a thousand incidents in which Russia used “tear gas munitions equipped with toxic chemicals that are prohibited for waging war,” such as 250 cases were registered in February alone.
The Kremlin rejected the US accusations.
Asked about them during a regular press briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We saw the news about it. These accusations are absolutely baseless, unsupported by anything. Russia was and remains committed to its obligations under international law.”
Chloropicrin was widely used as a chemical warfare agent in World War I, but is no longer approved for military use and is now used primarily in agriculture, according to the CDC.
It irritates the lungs, eyes and skin and can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea lasting for weeks, according to the CDC.
These people dared to challenge Putin. They are all dead
Under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Warfare Act, the State Department “reimposed restrictions on foreign military financing, US government lines of credit, and export licenses for defense and national security sensitive items going to Russia.” , said Wednesday.
It added that it was sanctioning three Russian government entities linked to the country’s chemical and biological weapons programs and four Russian companies that contributed to those government entities.
The announcement was part of a tranche of nearly 300 new sanctions against companies and figures in multiple countries for their support of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including China, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
US previously warned Russia against chemical warfare in Ukraine; in March 2022, a month after the invasion began, President Joe Biden said NATO would respond if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine.
And last April at the G7 summit, the foreign ministers of the member states said in a joint statement that Russia would be met with “severe consequences” for any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
And Ukrainians on the front lines say they have faced increasing gas attacks.
In December, a Ukrainian combat medic said they had recorded at least nine incidents in which corrosive and flammable gas was dropped by drones on Ukrainian lines.
Another Ukrainian intelligence official told CNN that the substance used by the Russians was a form of CS gas, also known as tear gas.
Two soldiers who survived the gas attack told CNN they suffered injuries including burns and lacerations to the face, mouth and throat.
The use of chemical weapons is prohibited by international law.
Russia is a signatory to these treaties and claims it does not possess chemical weapons, but the country has already been linked to the use of nerve agents against critics in recent years.
The 47-year-old fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin was knocked unconscious after a walk, according to Russia’s prison service; his cause of death is unclear.
On Wednesday, the State Department said it would also impose new sanctions on three individuals connected to Navalny’s death: the director of the prison where Navalny was held; the solitary confinement warden who oversaw Navalny’s cell as well as the promenade yard where he allegedly collapsed and died; and the medical superintendent of the prison.
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