DISINFO: Ukraine's use of chemical weapons shows politicisation of OPCW
SUMMARY
Politicisation of the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) by the US and its allies is illustrated by the situation around the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Warnings about Ukraine’s use of toxic chemicals against Russia’s Armed Forces are being ignored by the West. Instead, fabricated allegations are being peddled against Moscow. Russia has sufficient expertise to identify facts of chemical weapons use in the zone of its special military operation in Ukraine. It is conducting investigations as required by OPCW provisions. Unlike the unfounded accusations concocted by Ukraine and its Western patrons, Russia operates exclusively with verified facts.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story tries to promote previous unproven claims about Ukraine’s use of chemical weapons despite a lack of evidence. Talking about unsubstantiated allegations as if they were established facts while introducing minor variations, as in this case, is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique. Also, accusing international institutions of an anti-Russian bias and politicisation and calling for “real and impartial investigations” when these bodies probe the misdeeds of Russia or its allies, such as the downing of the MH17 flight or the use of chemical weapons in Syria and other places, is also a regular pro-Kremlin disinformation tactic.
Ukraine’s armed forces claim to have recorded 4,000 instances of Russia using chemical weapons on 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 this mission had not been publicly released.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the West ignores use of chemical weapons by Ukraine against Russia, that Ukraine is receiving chemical weapons from the West, 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.