The action comes after Moscow accused Ukraine of planning a false-flag chemical weapons attack.
The UK has accused Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine and announced new sanctions targeting the country’s Radiological Chemical and Biological Defense Forces (RChBD). This comes a day after Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the RChBD, accused Ukraine of planning a false-flag chemical weapons attack to frame Russia.
Moscow insists it destroyed all its chemical weapons years ago, with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) overseeing the process.
In a statement on Tuesday, the British government condemned what it called “Russia’s blatant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC),” which has been signed by nearly every country in the world.
The UK stated that Russian forces “have openly admitted to using hazardous chemical weapons on the battlefield, with widespread use of riot control agents and multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin.”
London sanctioned both the RChBD and Igor Kirillov, who they say is directly responsible for the alleged violations, along with two laboratories under the Russian Defense Ministry’s control. The sanctions include a travel ban, asset freeze, and a ban on providing economic resources to these entities.
UK officials also accused Kirillov of being “a major mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation.”
On Monday, Kirillov accused Ukraine of preparing a false-flag chemical weapons attack to blame Russia and undermine its position at the OPCW. He pointed out that NATO had provided Ukraine with significantly more chemical protective equipment than the country actually needs, claiming this is further evidence of an impending plot.
The general also refuted claims that Russia had been attacking Ukraine with riot control agents and chemical weapons, reminding everyone that the OPCW had confirmed the complete destruction of all Russian chemical weapon stockpiles in 2017. He added that both the agency and inspectors from Western countries, including the US, monitored the destruction process.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of using chemical weapons on the battlefield and of hosting American biolabs on its territory.