DISINFO: More than 400 cases of chemical weapons use by Ukraine recorded
SUMMARY
Ukraine and the US violate international agreements on the prohibition of chemical and biological weapons.
During the special military operation, more than 400 cases of the use of chemical means of combating riots (chloroacetophenone, CS) and scheduled chemicals such as chloropicrin, B-Zet, hydrocyanic acid, chlorine cyanide by the Ukrainian side were recorded.
Caches of toxic substances and chemical munitions were discovered, a Ukrainian laboratory for their production, and the use of toxic compounds by the Armed Forces of Ukraine during military operations and for terrorist attacks. Cases of the use of unscheduled chemicals (thallium compounds) for sabotage against several Russian public opinion leaders were recorded.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about chemical weapons attacks by Ukrainian forces, portraying Ukraine as an out-of-control threat, this narrative has been used by Russia to justify its unprovoked aggression against its neighbour.
The allegation is not backed by any evidence. Previous Russian claims about the use of chemical agents by Ukrainian forces have been dismissed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as insufficiently substantiated, a conclusion that remained unchanged after this body visited Ukraine in July 2024.
Pro-Kremlin outlets frequently mention unsubstantiated allegations as if they were facts while introducing minor variations, as a disinformation strategy. The goal of this and other recent disinformation stories, launched after Russia was credibly accused of using chemical agents in the frontline in Ukraine, is to pre-emptively create a framework in the informative space to deny any Russian wrongdoing. Accusing the West, and international institutions of an anti-Russian bias and politicisation and calling for “real and impartial investigations,” is also a regular pro-Kremlin disinformation practice.
In December 2023, members of the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade boasted about their use of drones to drop CWC-banned riot control grenades on Ukrainian troops. The brigade subsequently edited the post, likely realising it had just implicated itself in a war crime. Between February 2022 and January 2024, the Ukrainian military recorded 626 instances of chemical weapons use by the Russian side. In May 2024, the US Department of State accused Russia of using the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, and brought sanctions against a number of Russian agencies and individuals in response.
After the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) working under the auspices of the UN, has been closely monitoring any threat of using toxic chemicals as weapons.
Ukraine’s military claims to have recorded 4,000 instances of Russia using chemical weapons in the frontline. In July, a mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visited Ukraine and arranged technological assistance and training to gather evidence in this regard.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Ukraine uses chemical weapons against Russia, that Ukrainian militants repeatedly used chemical agents against Russian military, that Ukraine's allies provide it with toxic chemicals to conduct a biological provocation, that Kyiv regime uses chemical weapons against the people of Donbas since 2015, that Ukraine uses American chemical weapons in the war, and that Chemical weapons: OPCW is anti-Russian US puppet.