Russia’s Radiological Chemical and Biological Defence forces, as well as its commander Igor Kirillov, are accused of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits its signatories — including Russia — from deploying chemical weapons against civilian or military targets.
Amongst the compounds allegedly used against Ukraine is chloropicrin, a toxic choking agent first deployed on the battlefields of WW1. It can enter the body through the skin, bypassing gas masks, and induce vomiting as well as severe internal organ damage.
“The U.K. will not sit idly by whilst Putin and his mafia state ride roughshod over international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention,” said Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who went on to label the Kremlin’s tactics as “cruel and inhumane.”
While London backed its sanctions behind Russian forces that it said “have openly admitted to using hazardous chemical weapons on the battlefield,” Moscow itself has denied all accusations.
Russia’s state news agency TASS cited Kirillov, who said that Russia “fully destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles in September 2017, ahead of schedule” and under the full supervision of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
But the Kremlin is no stranger to resorting to chemical warfare when it suits its needs. In 2018, Moscow attempted to assassinate former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter with the Novichok nerve agent in England, in what became known as the Salisbury Poisonings.
And in 2020, Russia again faced condemnation for attempting to murder Putin’s former political rival Alexei Navalny with Novichok on an airplane, which started a series of events that led to the opposition leader’s unjust arrest and suspicious death in February.
In addition to Kirillov and his Chemical and Biological Defence forces, two Russian Ministry of Defence laboratories were also blacklisted for developing and deploying the alleged chemical arsenals to the frontlines against Ukraine.
The sanctions freeze Kirillov’s U.K.-based assets and prohibits him from entering the country.
“The U.K. is cracking down on those responsible for these horrific chemical attacks in Ukraine,” said Defence Secretary John Healey: “Our support for Ukraine is ironclad and will continue for as long as it takes.”
London has so far sent £12.8 billion ($16.7 billion) in aid to Ukraine and has pledged to deliver £3 billion ($3.9 billion) in military support every year for as long as Kyiv needs.