DISINFO: Ukraine is receiving chemical weapons from the West
SUMMARY
Russia has irrefutable evidence of the supply of toxic chemicals to Ukraine. The West has been facilitating the supply of banned toxic chemicals to Kyiv for use as chemical weaponry on the frontlines. London has accused Russia of “flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)”, but Moscow destroyed its chemical arsenal years ago, with the process overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In reality, London’s accusations were intended to divert attention from the numerous instances of use of chemical weapons by Kyiv’s forces during the conflict against Moscow. By groundlessly accusing Russia, they are keeping confirmed facts of the use of prohibited toxic substances and chemical agents by the Kyiv regime forces silent.
RESPONSE
This is a direct reaction to the UK sanctioning Russian troops the previous day for their use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Making accusations of wrongdoings against Russia’s adversaries that mirror the same credible allegations against Russia is a regular pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.
This disinformation story tries also to promote previous unproven claims about Ukraine’s use of chemical weapons despite a lack of evidence. Pro-Kremlin outlets frequently mention unsubstantiated allegations as if they were established facts while introducing minor variations, as a disinformation strategy. The goal of this and other recent disinformation stories, launched after Russia was credibly accused of using chemical agents in the frontline in Ukraine, is to pre-emptively create a framework in the informative space to deny any Russian wrongdoing.
In December 2023, members of the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade boasted about their use of drones to drop CWC-banned riot control grenades on Ukrainian troops. The brigade subsequently edited the post, likely realising it had just implicated itself in a war crime. Between February 2022 and January 2024, the Ukrainian military recorded 626 instances of chemical weapons use by the Russian side. In May 2024, the US Department of State accused Russia of using the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, and brought sanctions against a number of Russian agencies and individuals in response.
Ukraine’s armed forces claim to have recorded 4,000 instances of Russia using chemical weapons in the frontline. In July, a mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visited Ukraine and arranged technological assistance and training to gather evidence in this regard. At the moment of the publication of this disinformation story, the results of the mission had not been publicly released.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Ukraine uses chemical weapons against Russia, that Ukrainian militants repeatedly used chemical agents against Russian military, that Ukraine's allies provide it with toxic chemicals to conduct a biological provocation, or that Kyiv regime uses chemical weapons against the people of Donbas since 2015.