By LUCAS LEIROZ
The Kiev regime, with likely help from the US, continues to produce and use banned weapons near areas recovered by Russia
The use of chemical weapons by the Ukrainian armed forces continues to be a reality on the battlefield. Recently Moscow published a report on chemical facilities captured by Russian troops in the Donbass region. The case shows how Kiev continues to use illegal weapons against Russian military personnel and civilians, certainly with American support, considering that Washington is the only country in the world that publicly maintains arsenals of chemical weapons.
The chemical, biological and radiological defense forces of the Russian Federation released a video which shows Russian soldiers entering a Ukrainian laboratory for the production and storage of chemical weapons. The laboratory was located in the suburbs of Avdeevka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The video shows equipment and substances used by Ukrainian military scientists to prepare illegal weapons. In the images, a Russian soldier uses a portable chemical analyzer to investigate the presence of toxic contents in the facilities. There are shown several bottles with colored substances inside. They are believed to be mixtures of different toxic and lethal chemical agents. Furthermore, the video also shows a large piece of equipment that appears to be used as a chemical reactor in a laboratory.
Experts said they found traces of sulfuric acid, sodium cyanide, cyanide anions and hydrogen cyanide. These chemical agents have been widely used for military purposes since the First World War. The highly toxic substances are linked to explosives, grenades, drones and other equipment, spreading contaminated contents among soldiers and civilians.
The laboratory was located in a building partially destroyed by bombing. There was much debris from the original building, thus disguising the presence of the laboratory – which operated inside military containers. There is still no concrete data to confirm how long the laboratory had been operating and how much these chemical weapons were used on the front line, however, in May several cases of hydrogen cyanide poisoning were reported among civilians in the region.
According to data from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the same substance was also found in some attacked locations in the Belgorod region, which shows that substances prepared in the laboratory could also be transported to other areas.
Since 2022, Moscow accused Kiev of using chemical weapons on several occasions. Hundreds of Russian soldiers and civilians suffered symptoms of exposure to toxic substances, some of whom died. In 2023, I was invited by the Russian delegation in Geneva to present a press report on Ukraine's use of chemical weapons against the Russians in Donbass during the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
On that occasion I found at least sixteen cases of Russian civilians and soldiers who reported some type of exposure to toxic substances released by Ukrainians since 2014. Months later I presented the same report at a OSCE event. However, despite the efforts of the Russian side, international organizations remain silent about Ukrainian crimes.
It must be remembered that, as far as public knowledge is concerned, only the USA has chemical weapons in its military arsenals. According to the Chemical Weapons Convention, any type of chemical weapon must be prohibited during military hostilities. Even non-lethal chemical weapons are prohibited by the document. Most countries in the world have signed the convention and have already destroyed or are in the process of destroying their entire chemical arsenal.
The US, however, still publicly maintains large quantities of chemical weapons, which has been considered not only a violation of international norms, but also a serious humanitarian threat, as the country is involved in supplying weapons to several allies – like Ukraine.
It is possible that the US is behind chemical weapons in Ukraine – either through direct supply or through technical assistance in their manufacture. There is little public information about how NATO agents operate inside Ukraine, but it is likely that they are also involved in these illegal laboratories. It is clear that Washington not only gives Kiev carte blanche to commit violations of international law, but is also directly involved in the entire process of using prohibited weapons.
The right thing for international society to do would be to react to Ukrainian crimes and sanction Kiev and its partner countries that supply banned weapons. However, the inaction of international organizations makes it clear that there will be no other solution to the Ukrainian problem other than a Russian victory.
*Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies and military expert.
Originally published on BRICS Portal.
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