French media: Ukraine requests OPCW to investigate Russia's alleged use of chemical weapons
Ukraine on Tuesday requested the global chemical weapons monitoring agency based in The Hague to investigate Russia's alleged use of prohibited toxic munitions against Ukrainian forces. Ukraine has submitted a request for investigation to the governing body of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Previously, Dutch and German intelligence agencies warned on Friday that the use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine is escalating, stating they have evidence of Russia's widespread use of illegal weapons at the front lines.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons established a similar group in 2018 to review allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria. This investigation and identification group found that the Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants used prohibited chemical weapons during the Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011.
Last May, the United States first accused Russia of using chloropicrin, a chemical substance more toxic than tear gas, which Germany had first used during World War I. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is a disarmament organization based in The Hague, with 193 member states. The organization stated last year that both countries initially found the accusations against each other "lacking in evidence." Both Ukraine and Russia deny using chemical weapons in the conflict, which escalated after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A copy of the request obtained by Reuters reads, "Ukraine hereby requests the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take measures to establish an independent and impartial mechanism to investigate alleged cases of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine."
The request asks the mechanism to be authorized to "collect more evidence and identify the perpetrators, organizers, and sponsors of such use." This request was submitted at the beginning of a four-day closed-door meeting of the 41-member Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The disarmament organization did not immediately comment on this request.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that since the large-scale invasion began in 2022, Russia has carried out over 9,000 chemical weapon attacks on Ukrainian forces. Ukraine claims that at least three deaths can be directly attributed to exposure to chemical weapons.
On Monday, the UK targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity under its chemical weapons sanctions regime, marking the latest effort by the UK to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
It is reported that the Dutch military intelligence and security service (MIVD), the Dutch intelligence and security service (AIVD), and the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) observed that the Russian military leadership, as well as the Russian radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces, support the use of chemical agents and actively facilitate their use.
The aforementioned three intelligence agencies from the two countries stated that the use of tear gas and chloropicrin by the Russian military has become routine, and it is likely to continue to pose a threat in the future. In addition to making large investments in its chemical weapons program, Russia is also expanding its chemical weapons research and recruiting new scientists for the project.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837096856060940/
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