LONDON, October 8. /TASS/. London keeps turning a blind eye to Kiev’s use of toxic chemicals, while British government officials make baseless allegations of Moscow violating the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Russian embassy in the UK said.
"Russia strictly abides by international law, including the Geneva Conventions and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Our Armed Forces don’t have chemical weapons in their arsenals, which was confirmed by international inspections," the embassy pointed out in a statement in relation to the United Kingdom’s new sanctions on Russia.
"They make groundless accusations against Russia, while seeking to conceal the evidence of the use of banned toxic substances and chemical agents by the Kiev regime’s forces. It’s not just about chloropicrin, which, by the way, Ukrainian nationalists used during the tragic siege of the Trade Union House in Odessa back in 2014. Meanwhile, there is irrefutable evidence that toxic chemicals, among other things, are supplied to Ukraine with Western assistance," the statement notes.
The embassy added that the introducing unilateral restrictions on Russia had become a routine for London, which was focused on confrontation. Still, the UK’s sanctions lack legitimacy and effectiveness, the diplomatic mission emphasized.
London’s sanctions
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Kingdom blacklisted Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops and their chief Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, as well as the Russian Defense Ministry’s 27th Scientific Center and 33rd Central Scientific Research and Testing Institute. The British Foreign Office alleged that the Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops were responsible for using chemical weapons in Ukraine, including chloropicrin. The Foreign Office accused Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention and urged Moscow "to immediately cease all such activity."
The new British sanctions came the day after Kirillov announced that the Ukrainian armed forces had used Western chemical weapons under the guise of smoke shells in the Russian city of Sudzha in August 2024. He also said that Kiev planned to stage a provocation in order to accuse Russia of using toxic chemicals during its special military operation.