DISINFO: Ukraine has used chemical weapons in Kursk
SUMMARY
Ukraine used chemical weapons in attacks against Kursk. Employees of the Russian energy firm Rosseti were targeted with chemical weapons in the bombing of the Belovski district, in the Russian province of Kursk.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about chemical weapons attacks by Ukrainian forces. By portraying Ukraine as an out-of-control threat, this narrative has been used by Russia to justify its unprovoked aggression of 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 Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as insufficiently substantiated, a conclusion that remained unchanged after this body visited Ukraine in July 2024.
Russia’s allegations in this regard have multiplied after some testimonies accused Russian forces of using chemical agents in the frontline in Ukraine. 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 had accused Russia of using the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, and brought sanctions against a number of Russian agencies and individuals in response.
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, or that Kyiv regime uses chemical weapons against the people of Donbas since 2015.