Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use
A request to establish an investigation was submitted by Kyiv to the governing body of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
It followed Dutch and German intelligence agencies on Friday saying they had evidence of widespread use of illegal weapons by Russia along the frontline.
Agency chief Fernando Arias said in a statement to the OPCW's Executive Council that in view of the alleged frequent use of dangerous chemical agents his office would step up monitoring of activity along the Russia-Ukraine conflict line, Reuters reportf.
He invited Ukraine to discuss its proposal with member states, a majority of whom may be needed to support such an investigation.
The OPCW created a similar team in 2018 to examine accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria. The Investigation and Identification Team found that Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants had used banned chemical weapons in the civil war that began in March 2011. The United States first accused Russia in May last year of using chloropicrin, a chemical compound more toxic than riot control agents and first used by Germany during World War One. The OPCW, a disarmament agency in The Hague with 193 member states, said last year that initial accusations levelled by both countries at each other were "insufficiently substantiated".
Both sides have denied using chemical weapons in the conflict, which escalated when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
"Ukraine hereby requests the Director-General of the OPCW to take steps towards establishing an independent and impartial mechanism (to) investigate cases of alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine," a copy of the request shared with Reuters said.
It asked that the mechanism be empowered to "collect additional evidence and identify perpetrators, organisers, sponsors of such use."
It was submitted at the beginning of four days of closed-door meetings by the 41-country Executive Council of the OPCW. The disarmament body had no immediate comment on the request.
At least three Ukrainian deaths have been tied to chemical weapons use, the Dutch Military Intelligence Agency said, while more than 2,500 people injured on the battlefield reported chemical weapons-related symptoms to Ukrainian health authorities.
On Monday, Britain targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
22 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Criticizes Putin After Approving More Weapons for Ukraine
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the growing death toll in Russia's war with Ukraine. Trump, who pledged as a presidential candidate to end the war within a day, has not been able to follow through on that promise and efforts by his administration to broker peace have come up short. Trump directed his ire at Putin on Tuesday during a meeting with cabinet officials at the White House. "I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now," Trump said, noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in the thousands. "We get a lot of [expletive] thrown at us by Putin ... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said. Trump said he was considering whether to support a bill in the Senate that would impose steep sanctions on Russia over the war. "I'm looking at it very strongly," he said. The bill, whose lead sponsors are Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, would also punish other countries that trade with Moscow, imposing 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. DEFENSIVE WEAPONS AGAINST RUSSIAN ADVANCES Trump said on Monday that the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help it defend itself against Russian advances. On Tuesday he said he had approved such a move. "We're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I've approved that," he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he had ordered an expansion of contacts with the United States to ensure critical deliveries of military supplies, primarily air defense. "We currently have all the necessary political statements and decisions and we must implement them as quickly as possible to protect our people and positions," he said. "These are critical deliveries that mean saving lives and protecting Ukrainian cities and villages. I expect results from these contacts very soon. And this week, we are preparing formats for meetings of our military and political teams." Zelenskiy has repeatedly urged Ukraine's Western allies to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to force the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire as a step towards reaching an end to the war, now 40 months old. A decision by the Pentagon to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv last week that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances. Trump, who was seated next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was asked on Tuesday who had ordered that pause. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump responded.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Sacked Russian transport minister found dead in his car with gunshot wound
Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him. A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit, 53, after barely a year in the job, though political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a transport industry source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's position had been in question for months due to questions about the same corruption scandal. That investigation centers on whether 19.4 billion rubles ($246 million) earmarked in 2022 for fortifying Russia's border with Ukraine in the Kursk region was properly spent or whether some of that money was embezzled. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement it was working to establish the precise circumstances of Starovoit's death. A pistol belonging to Starovoit, who was divorced with two daughters, had been found near his body, various Russian media outlets cited law enforcement sources as saying. Some Russian media, citing law enforcement sources, also said his body had been found with a gunshot wound to the head in bushes near his car, a Tesla, rather than in the car itself. The vehicle was left near a park not far from his home in the Moscow region. Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years. Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War Two and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction. In April this year, Starovoit's successor as governor and his former deputy, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defense purposes amid accusations that funds intended for border defenses had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. Various Russian media outlets reported on Monday that Smirnov had told state investigators that Starovoit had also been in on the fraud. Reuters could not confirm that, and a lawyer for Smirnov - who has pleaded not guilty to embezzlement - told the state RIA news agency that he couldn't comment. Transport challenges Starovoit's dismissal comes at a time of significant challenges for Russia's transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year. Russia's aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates - needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war - take their toll. Long-range Ukrainian drones also frequently force Russian airports to suspend their activities for safety reasons, sometimes causing major disruption. The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister, and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin. Asked about Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin thought Nikitin had the right professional qualities and experience for the job. The transport ministry declined to comment. At his meeting with Putin, Nikitin spoke about working to digitize Russia's transport industry in an effort to reduce cargo bottlenecks and ensure smoother cross-border flows of goods.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Three dead in Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Kursk region
A Ukrainian drone attack killed three people, including a National Guard soldier, in the Russian city of Kursk, near the border with Ukraine, the region's acting governor said. 'To our deep sorrow, as a result of the attack on the municipal beach, three people died on the spot,' Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram late Tuesday, adding later that seven others were wounded, including a young boy. Khinshtein accused Ukrainian forces of an 'inhumane attack' Tuesday night in which 'the enemy deliberately struck a place where civilians were located.' Khinshtein said early Wednesday in a separate post that the National Guard soldier 'did not survive' after a second explosion occurred as he was evacuating people from the area following reports of the drone attack. Of the seven wounded, five, including a five-year-old boy, were in serious condition, the acting governor said. There were no military facilities nearby, he added. Another Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Rylsk in Kursk wounded two people, according to Khinshtein. In August 2024, Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, seizing hundreds of square kilometers of territory in a major military setback for the Kremlin. Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack, but did not fully claim control of the region until April, almost nine months later. Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine in 2022 and has shown little willingness to end the conflict despite pressure from US President Donald Trump. In Ukraine's capital Kyiv, a woman was wounded and hospitalized after a Russian strike, Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the region's military administration, said early Wednesday.
