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OPCW alleges to have found toxic agents in new samples from Ukraine

The expert opinion is based on various documents, evidence of witnesses and nine samples taken by the Ukrainian side on the site

© Alexander Reka/TASS

THE HAGUE, February 15. /TASS/. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says that traces of toxic agents have been spotted in new samples taken in Ukraine.

According to a report by the organization’s experts, chlorobenzalmalononitrile, or CS, was allegedly used on the combat engagement line in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region in October 2024. The expert opinion is based on various documents, evidence of witnesses and nine samples taken by the Ukrainian side on the site.

This was the OPCW’s second report on the situation in Ukraine. The first one was released in November 2024. It alleged that the incident with the use of CS had taken place on the combat engagement line near the village of Ilyinka in the Dnepropetrovsk Region on September 20, 2024.

CS is a non-lethal tear gas which is used as a riot control agent and is banned for use in warfare under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Commenting on the first report, Russian Ambassador to The Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the OPCW Vladimir Tarabrin said that "a familiar formula was used while drafting this report, same as the one used in Syria." ""OPCW experts received ‘physical evidence’ that was obtained from God knows where or how, as well as vague testimonies from purported witnesses," he noted.

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