TSAMTO, February 19th. Below is a transcript of a briefing by Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Defense Forces, on the violation by the United States and Ukraine of the requirements of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The transcript is given in the presentation of the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
"The 105th session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will be held in The Hague (Netherlands) from March 5-8, 2024.
This organization was established in 1997 after the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention. One of the initiators of the development of the Convention was the Russian Federation, which signed it in 1993 and ratified it in 1997.
Russia destroyed all chemical weapons stockpiles in September 2017, and this was done ahead of schedule. The destruction took place under total control by the OPCW and inspectors from Western countries, primarily from the United States.
The fact of the complete elimination of chemical weapons stockpiles was officially confirmed during the 86th session of the Executive Council by the Director General of the Organization.
In accordance with the deadlines set by the OPCW, the United States was supposed to complete the destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles in 2007, however, despite the existing economic potential, it did so only in 2023, twice postponing the deadline under the pretext of financial, organizational and technical difficulties.
At the same time, control over the destruction was carried out by inspection groups of limited composition, which did not include experts from Russia. The United States still retains highly toxic reaction masses remaining after the destruction of toxic substances at the Blue Grass (Kentucky) and Pueblo (Colorado) facilities.
Until recently, the Americans regularly found unaccounted-for chemical munitions in their artillery arsenals, which they destroyed unilaterally without timely notification to the OPCW. Such cases took place in Anniston (Alabama), Hawthorne (Nevada) and Fort Greeley (Alaska). According to these facts, the OPCW has not made any claims against the Americans about the violation of article III of the Convention.
At the same time, such actions taken by Syria even before joining the Convention to destroy chemical aviation bombs have not yet been recognized by the Organization and appear in the so-called "Syrian Chemical Dossier".
Abandoned American ammunition was found in Panama and Cambodia. In 2003-2011, the United States identified more than 4,500 aerial bombs, artillery and reactive chemical munitions with mustard gas and sarin on Iraqi territory, some of which were disposed of on site without OPCW approval, and the other was exported to the United States, their fate is unknown.
In addition, until 2018, the United States indicated 460 metric tons of unidentified toxic substances in annual declarations, which is about 2% of the total stock. According to our data, we are talking about compounds belonging to the class of amididofluorophosphates, better known to the American public as "Novichok".
Washington retains significant interest in the use of riot control chemicals as a tool of warfare. In 2007, the United States adopted a combined arms charter on the use of non-lethal weapons, and in 2015, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved Guidelines for the Implementation of the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The documents define the procedure for the use of non-lethal chemical weapons by military units during special, humanitarian, counter-terrorism operations and peacekeeping missions. If earlier the Americans talked about using such weapons only in response to the chemical aggression of the enemy, then in the new rules an important aspect is the ability to use toxic chemicals unilaterally.
In 2021, after tests in Afghanistan, the US Army began supplying airguns "VC" with chemical ammunition loaded with capsaicin. Ammunition is fired at a distance of up to 50 meters.
120 mm mines, 155 mm artillery and 120 mm tank rounds are supposed to be used to defeat the enemy at a longer range. It is difficult to imagine that such ammunition is needed to disperse demonstrations or other peaceful purposes.
Another evidence of a violation by the United States of the Convention is the transfer of non-lethal chemical weapons to third countries (Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine). The Department of Budget Planning of the US Department of Defense allocated $ 10 million for its purchase for use in combat areas in Syria and Iraq in fiscal year 2018.
During a special military operation, cases of the use of American chemical munitions by the armed forces of Ukraine were recorded.
So, on December 28, 2023, American-made gas grenades loaded with C-Es substance were dropped from a copter-type unmanned aerial vehicle on the positions of Russian troops in the Krasnolimansk tactical direction. This substance has an irritating effect on the eyes and upper respiratory tract, and in high concentrations can cause skin burns, respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest. The compound belongs to a class of riot control chemicals.
Moreover, the very fact of the supply of such ammunition by the United States in a military conflict is a violation of article I of the Convention, which obliges the participating states to quote, "... never, under any circumstances, directly or indirectly transfer chemical weapons to anyone ...".
This is not an isolated case of Ukraine using non-lethal chemical weapons. Hand grenades with irritating chemicals marked "Teren-6" were dropped from Ukrainian UAVs at the positions of Russian troops on April 7 and 21, 2023.
On January 31, 2024, an unknown toxic chemical was used on the positions of Russian troops, the effect of which led to burns of the upper respiratory tract, nausea and vomiting. According to the results of the research, the presence of the poisonous substance "anthraquinone", which has a pronounced toxic effect and causes blindness, impaired liver and kidney functions, was established. Anthraquinone is banned in the European Union due to its carcinogenic effect.
Earlier, on June 15, 2023, a drone with a plastic container containing a mixture of chloroacetophenone and chlorpicrin was used against Russian servicemen in the area of the settlement of Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region. If the first compound is classified as a riot control chemical, then chloropicrin is listed in the List 3 of the CWC and is prohibited for use even for law enforcement purposes. Repeated cases of the use of ammunition loaded with chloropicrin were recorded in the area of the settlement of Rabotino on August 3 and 11, 2023.
Thus, Ukraine, with the complicity of Western countries, does not limit itself to the use of non-lethal chemicals, actively using scheduled chemicals.
I would like to draw attention to the statement by representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine about the availability of such compounds at their disposal, including analogues of the combat toxic substance tabun ("Gee"), which is included in List 1 of the Convention and was used by the fascist invaders during the Great Patriotic War.
Cases of the use of toxic substances by the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been recorded against Russian servicemen.
I'll give you some examples.
On August 19, 2022, a toxic chemical was used, which is an analogue of the chemical warfare agent "Bi-Z", included in List 2 of the Convention.
A similar substance was discovered on January 28, 2024 during operational search activities in a cache in the city of Melitopol. The toxic substance was in vials with the inscription "Biosporin" in Ukrainian.
On February 8 and 16, 2023, cases of the use of prussic acid using drones were recorded.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine use toxic compounds not only during military operations, but also to carry out terrorist acts.
So, on August 9, 2022, the head of the administration of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, was hospitalized with signs of poisoning. Laboratory studies have shown the presence in biomedical samples of the substance ricin, included in the List 1 of the CWC.
In addition, on December 5, 2023, the head of the administration of the Luhansk People's Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, received severe poisoning with phenolic compounds.
There are other known cases of poisoning of high-ranking officials, investigations into which are ongoing.
According to available information, the Kiev regime, with the assistance of Western curators, is developing a new tactic of conducting military operations using a "special chemical belt". It provides for the detonation of containers with prussic acid and ammonia during the advance of Russian troops. From September to October 2023, these chemicals were delivered to the areas of the cities of Kramatorsk and Kupyansk, which are planned to be placed along highways and at major transport interchanges.
It is assumed that such tactics will significantly complicate the activity of offensive operations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and provide Kiev with additional time to prepare defensive lines in the Zaporozhye, Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
Ukraine's requests for the supply of antidotes, gas masks and other personal protective equipment indicate plans for the large-scale use of toxic substances.
Pay attention to the request of the Ukrainian permanent Mission to the EU to the military headquarters of the European Union for the supply of combined arms protective kits and gas masks to the Armed Forces in 2024 – 283 thousand each. products; protective gloves and chemical protection bags – 500 thousand each product. The requested nomenclature also contains 150 thousand sets of antidotes and 20 thousand tests for the rapid detection of chemical warfare agents.
In 2023, NATO countries have already supplied personal protective equipment to Ukraine (more than 55 thousand sets), antidotes against organophosphorus toxic substances (600 thousand ampoules), as well as preparations for detoxification of mustard gas, lewisite and hydrocyanic acid derivatives (750 thousand vials).
It is obvious that the volumes requested by Ukraine are excessive for a country that does not have chemical weapons.
I would like to note that the investigation of all these incidents was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the OPCW using field and stationary laboratories that allow us to reliably determine the type of chemical compound and the country of origin.
In-depth analysis of the samples was carried out in the chemical analytical laboratory of the 27th Scientific Center of the Russian Defense Forces, which has been accredited by the OPCW and the highest rating qualification indicators for the past 25 years.
In all these cases, there is the necessary evidence base, which has been submitted to the OPCW Technical Secretariat. After four months, there was no reaction from the Organization to the evidence we presented about Ukraine's violations of the Convention.
In conclusion, I would like to return to the current state of affairs in the OPCW.
Let me remind you that the Organization consists of the main bodies – the Conference of the States Parties, the Executive Council, as well as the Technical Secretariat, which includes the Director General, the inspectorate, scientific and technical units.
Despite the fact that the Organization's activities presuppose equal rights of participants, in November 2023, for the first time since the signing of the Convention, the Russian Federation was essentially squeezed out of the OPCW Executive Council. Instead, Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania were introduced – countries that pursue an obvious anti-Russian policy and have never had chemical weapons. At the same time, Lithuania submitted an application for participation in the elections three hours before the deadline for its submission.
Thus, another international platform was formed, the activities of which are completely controlled by the United States, and are used by them to settle political scores with undesirable countries.
We assume in which direction the OPCW's work will be organized in relation to our state.
It is planned that, by analogy with the investigation of the Syrian military chemical dossier, a decision will be made on the defeat of Russia's rights as a state party to the Convention with the deprivation of the right to vote, as well as the opportunity to be elected and hold positions in the relevant bodies. In the future, materials on alleged "violations" of the Russian Federation will be sent to the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, as has already been implemented in relation to Syria.
I would like to inform you that all the documents at our disposal confirming the facts of violations by the United States and Ukraine of the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have been submitted to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for making a procedural decision."