The Biden administration has just leveled a somewhat bizarre chemical weapons accusation against Russia, coming a day after the US Treasury came out with nearly 300 new anti-Moscow sanctions. Those previously reported sanctions targeted Russia's defense-industrial sector, including its alleged chemical weapons program (Russia denies having one).
"The U.S. State Department accused Russia Wednesday of having used chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention," AFP reports.
This was enough to generate ominous sounding headlines implying 'Putin is gassing people' - or something along those lines. Yes, technically the chemicals identified would count as "chemical weapons" according to technical definitions in international treaties.
But the key caveat is contained in a State Department factsheet, that Russia is using "riot control agents [tear gas] as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC."
Another choking agent, chloropicrin, was also mentioned by the US. Moscow forces are basically deploying riot control agents "as a method of warfare" in Ukraine, the US Department of State said.
"The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield," the statement added. Al Jazeera explains of chloropicrin:
Chloropicrin, a nearly colourless oily liquid which causes severe irritation to the eyes, skin and lungs, was used in large quantities during World War I, according to the US’s National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.
While it continues to be used as an agricultural pesticide, its use in war is banned under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
So the 'big' chemical weapons accusation against Moscow is that it is using tear gas - or basically the same measures now actively being deployed against pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses. Russian forces have reportedly been using grenades loaded with CS and CN gasses... again, this appears to be the sum total of the allegation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the charge of Russian forces using chemical weapons in Ukraine. "As always, such announcements are absolutely unfounded and are not supported by anything. Russia has been and remains committed to its obligations under international law in this area," he told a press briefing.
The US claim generated some scary headlines on Thursday, including this from the New York Times:
Separately, Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov slammed the fresh accusations as "odious and unsubstantiated."
As for the US, it has been caught deploying much worse in civilian areas of Iraq - with white phosphorus munitions and depleted uranium topping the list.