The United States accuses Russia of using a chemical agent, chloropicrin, against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), according to a State Department statement Wednesday. .
In addition, Russia uses riot control agents as a “method of war in Ukraine, also in violation of the convention,” adds American diplomacy in this text.
“The use of these chemicals is not an isolated incident and is likely motivated by the desire of Russian forces to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and make tactical advances on the battlefield,” the Department of Defense wrote. ‘State.
At the same time, Washington announced on Wednesday a new wave of sanctions targeting Russian or foreign companies or individuals accused of participating in the Russian war effort in the invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to Russian defense companies, as well as Chinese entities, these sanctions also concern several research units and companies involved in Russian chemical and biological weapons programs.
“Russia’s continued disregard for its obligations under the CIAC is consistent with the operations to poison Alexei Navalny and Sergei and Yulia Skripal with Novichok-type nerve agents,” the department continues. of state.
Alexeï Navalny, former opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died on February 16, was the victim of serious poisoning which he attributed to the Kremlin,
Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal were poisoned in England in 2018.
Russia has said it no longer possesses a military chemical arsenal, but the country faces pressure for more transparency over the use of toxic weapons it is accused of.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), chloropicrin is a chemical that has been used as a warfare agent and pesticide and, if inhaled, poses a health risk.
“Circumvention” of sanctions
“Today’s sanctions aim to further disrupt and weaken Russia’s war effort by targeting its core military industry and evasion networks. [des sanctions existantes] who help it to supply itself,” declared the American Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, quoted in a press release.
Among the foreign companies targeted, sixteen are Chinese or Hong Kong, most of them accused of helping Russia to supply components which are normally prohibited, but also, for two of them, of having procured the materials necessary for the production of munitions.
The sanctions concern companies from five other countries: the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as two members of the European Union, Belgium and Slovakia.
Around a hundred Russian companies, among the more than 200 also targeted, operate specifically in the defense, transport or technology sectors.
Finally, the sanctions also concern Russian gas and oil infrastructures, while Moscow seeks to develop those which would allow it to more easily export its hydrocarbons, in particular to China. These exports are currently carried out by tankers or LNG tankers, due to a lack of sufficient oil and gas pipelines to the east.
These sanctions provide in particular for freezing the assets of targeted companies or individuals present in the United States, as well as prohibiting American entities or citizens from doing business with the targets of the sanctions.
G7 members as well as the EU and several close countries, such as Australia and South Korea, have increased sanctions against Russia since the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 .
The latest sanctions have particularly targeted the mining sector, notably aluminum, copper and nickel, the import of which into the United States and the United Kingdom is now prohibited.