UK sanctions Russian army commander over chemical weapons claims in Ukraine – The Frontier Post

LONDON (AFP): The British government on Tuesday imposed sanctions on the chemical and biological branch of the Russian armed forces and its commander Igor Kirillov over the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Britain and the United States have accused Russia of using the poisonous agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

Britain’s Foreign Office said it had imposed sanctions on Kirillov and the Russian military’s radiological, chemical and biological defense unit “for helping to deploy these barbaric weapons.”

It also imposed sanctions on two Russian Defense Ministry laboratories “for providing support for the development and deployment” of chemical agents on the frontline.

“The UK will not stand idly by while Putin and his mafia state flout international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

“Russia’s cruel and inhumane tactics on the battlefield are abhorrent and I will use the full arsenal of powers at my disposal to combat Russia’s malign activities.”

Chloropicrin is an oily liquid with a pungent odor known as an asphyxiant, which was widely used as a form of tear gas during World War I.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labels it a “lung damaging agent” that can cause severe irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) specifically prohibits their use.

Russia has said it no longer has a military chemical arsenal, but the country is under pressure for more transparency over its alleged use of toxic weapons.

In May, the OPCW said the information it had received so far about the alleged use of chloropicrin in Ukraine was “insufficiently substantiated.” The Kremlin called the claims “baseless and baseless.”

In June, Ukraine accused Russia of increasing frontline attacks using banned hazardous chemicals. The month before, more than 700 cases of its use had been recorded.

Moscow has signed and ratified the CWC, which bans the production and use of chemical weapons.

The sanctions subject Kirillov to an asset freeze and ban him from entering the United Kingdom. They also freeze the assets of the sanctioned entities.

Britain has been one of Ukraine’s biggest backers in its war against Russia’s large-scale invasion of its neighbor, pledging to provide £3.0 billion ($3.9 billion) in military aid every year, it said long as necessary.