Also conveniently timed to detract from the reality on the ground in Ukraine. Russian forces have and continue to gain ground putting lots of pressure on Kiev and it’s western backers
The Kremlin on Thursday rejected allegations by the United States that Russian forces had used a “chemical weapon” in Ukraine
and blasted new sanctions targeting Moscow’s key trading partners.The US State Department said Wednesday that Russia used “the chemical weapon chloropicrin” against Ukrainian forces.
The Department of State has made a determination under the CBW Act that Russia has used the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC),” the Department of State said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As always, such accusations sound completely baseless and unsubstantiated,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the claims.
The US said that Moscow had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Chloropicrin is an oily substance known as a choking agent that was widely used during World War I as a form of tear gas.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention label it a “lung damaging agent” that can cause severe irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory systems.
Its use is specifically prohibited by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the implementing body for the CWC.
‘Hostile’
Moscow said a fresh round of US sanctions — including on entities in China and other countries where the West has accused firms of helping Russia’s military offensive — would not prevent it forging closer ties with its allies outside of the West.“The United States is continuing with its overt pressure on these countries. Companies, firms are suffering, but it is not capable of disrupting the development of our bilateral relations with these countries,” Peskov said Thursday.
The sanctions, imposed by the US Treasury, targeted companies and individuals that the US said were helping Russia procure key components and parts for its defence sector.
Visiting China last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had raised concerns over Beijing’s support for Moscow.
“Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support,” Blinken told reporters.
The US made a determination. It’s unclear how this determination was made, it seems to have been simply made.
4 replies on “US deploys chemical weapons trope justifying sanctions”
…no evidence… no corroboration,,,,no fact check…no motive…no logic ,,,(WW1 era gas ? more dangerous to your own troops then to the enemy)
Re-play the same tired manufactured spin that was de-bunked in Syria spoken by the self-appointed guardians of the ‘rules of war’,
I stopped listening years ago.
Smells like desperation and a slow news day out of Langley VA
Hey Mark, I agree on the tired spin-
Sadly though, there are people who will believe it! For those folk, this never gets old.
Not sure why your comment went to moderation?
I expect that the US has made this claim so that if NATO troops enter the battlefield more openly on the side of Ukraine this will give them an additional pretext..
Cause Macron was flapping his jaws yet again!
Hi Penny,
Pretext means nothing any more when everybody just ignores ‘legalities’ and there is no way any court can enforce any rulings. The ‘rules based international order’ is discredited and defunct.
Little Napoleon Macron can talk tough all he wants, Lavrov will counter diplomatically while the common people in Russia just mock NATO threats.
( maybe my comment went to moderation because I changed by name by dropping the last name )