Britain has imposed sanctions on Russian soldiers it says used chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces and their commander, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, will be subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban. Two scientific laboratories of the Russian Ministry of Defense have also been designated.
Kirillov is also a “key mouthpiece for the Kremlin’s disinformation,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The US has previously accused Russian forces of using dangerous chemicals in Ukraine, including “riot control agents” such as tear gas and the toxic asphyxiant chloropicrin – first used in combat during World War I.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Britain will not “stand idly by as Putin and his mafia state flout international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention.”
Lammy called Russia’s “egregious” use of chemicals “cruel and inhumane” and vowed to use all the power at his disposal to combat the “malign activity.”
Announcing the sanctions, Defense Secretary John Healey said: “Our message to Putin and his regime is clear: you cannot break international law without facing the consequences.”
Healey said the two Russian Defense Ministry centers were sanctioned for “supporting the development and deployment of these inhumane weapons for use on the front lines.”
Britain is providing Ukraine with essential equipment and training to protect its people from chemical weapons, he added.
In May, the US accused Russia of using chemical weapons as a “method of war” in Ukrainecontrary to international laws prohibiting their use.
State Department officials said Russia used the asphyxiant chloropicrin to make “battlefield gains” over Ukraine.
The Kremlin rejected the accusations at the time, calling them “unfounded.”
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global watchdog overseeing the implementation of the CWC, says a chemical weapon is a substance used to deliberately cause death or harm through its toxic properties.
Chloropicrin – which the US says Russia used to “drive Ukrainian troops out of fortified positions” – is an oily substance widely used during World War I. According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), it causes irritation of the lungs, eyes and skin and can cause vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.
The chemical’s use in war is expressly prohibited under the CWC and is listed by the OPCW as an asphyxiant.
US officials have previously said that Russian forces regularly used “riot control tools” such as tear gas during the war in Ukraine.
