The United States on Wednesday accused Russia of deploying the suffocating agent chloropicrin to Ukrainian troops and violating the international chemical weapons ban by using the riot control agent “as a means of war” in Ukraine.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and was likely driven by the Russian military’s desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” the State Department said in a statement. said.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Reuters could not independently confirm the use of banned chemicals.
Chloropicrin is listed as a prohibited asphyxiant by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was established to enforce and monitor compliance with the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) . During World War I, the German military used gas against Allied forces in one of the first uses of chemical weapons.
The statement said Russia’s use of the gas was “based on the same plan” as the operations to poison late opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020 and Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the nerve agent Novichok in 2018. ”.
Russia denied involvement in both incidents.
The ministry also determined that Russia violated the CWC’s prohibition on the use of counterinsurgency personnel as a means of warfare, the statement said.
Separately, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets, and the State Department designated more than 80 targets in one of the most extensive sanctions against Chinese companies ever imposed by the US government against Russia. .
The sanctions on 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong come as the US government has repeatedly warned about China’s support for the Russian military, including during recent visits to the country by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The measures were taken in response to the
China’s support for Russia is one of many issues that threatens to sour the recent improvement in relations between the world’s largest economies.
“The Treasury Department has consistently warned that companies face serious consequences if they provide material support to Russia’s war effort, and today the United States is imposing that support on nearly 300 targets,” Yellen said in a statement. “I am doing so,” he said.
The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the government supervises the export of dual-purpose goods in accordance with laws and regulations, and that normal trade and economic exchanges between China and Russia are subject to World Trade Organization rules and market principles. It added. .
“The Chinese side firmly opposes the United States’ illegal unilateral sanctions,” he said.
Since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine, the United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on thousands of targets. The war left tens of thousands of people dead and cities destroyed.
The US government has since tried to crack down on circumvention of Western measures, including imposing sanctions on companies from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday’s action allowed Russia to “obtain badly needed technology and equipment from abroad” at about 60 locations in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia. The target was subject to sanctions.
The move also includes action against companies based in China, where the Treasury Department said it exported items used to make drones, such as propellers, engines and sensors, to Russian companies. Other China- and Hong Kong-based technology suppliers were also targeted.
The State Department also identified four China-based companies for supporting Russia’s defense industrial base, including transporting critical items to companies under U.S. sanctions against Russia, as well as Turkey and Kyrgyzstan for transporting high-value goods. , also imposed sanctions on Malaysian companies. Priority items to Russia.
“Concerns about Chinese domestic entities funding Russia’s wars have been noted at the highest levels of the ministry and administration. The reason is very simple: China is a key component of Russia’s defense industrial base. Russia is using them to wage war against Ukraine,” a senior State Department official said.
“If China ends export support for these items, Russia will have a hard time sustaining its war effort.”
