Information "throw-in": Russia is preparing the ground for future provocations and the use of chemical weapons

At a briefing held at the end of last month, the head of the radiation, chemical, and biological protection troops of the Russian Armed Forces, Ihor Kyrylov, referred to the statements of the former US Ambassador John Sullivan, who allegedly stated: ”Russian troops plan to use chemical weapons in the area of a special military operation."

For reference: this information (with the full text of the briefing) is published on The International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) website.

Kyrylov stressed that the Russian side regards this intention from the United States and their accomplices as an opportunity to use toxic chemicals in Ukraine and blame Russia for this. Thus, the head of the RCBP troops once again tried to create an “Information alibi” for his aggressor state. 

Moreover, John Sullivan, during a conference devoted to the war in Ukraine, answering a question about the use of chemical weapons by the Russians, noted the following: "I would not be surprised if the Russian side uses chemical weapons in a limited area. For example, last year, when Russian troops tried to take Azovstal, similar to when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons. I forecast that, as with Syria, they will try to blame the Ukrainians for this. This provocation would be designed because allies or partners will be forced to contact the Organization for the Prohibition of chemical weapons about the need for an investigation. This will be necessary to establish who did what. However, it is worth noting that the investigation cannot be conducted in a war zone."

In turn, Kyrylov said at a briefing that, in their opinion, preparations in Ukraine for chemical provocations are in full swing. At the beginning of this year, Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center planned to supply a large batch of personal protective equipment to Ukraine. The head of the radiation, chemical, and biological protection troops of the Russian Armed Forces noted that as a justification, the quote indicated:

“...Russian troops have already used ammunition with a phosphorous composition and may use toxic substances during the predicted escalation of the situation.”

According to Kyrylov, the list of personal protective equipment delivered to Ukraine includes 55 thousand sets of personal protective equipment, 55 thousand gas masks, 13 thousand individual anti-chemical missiles, antidotes from organophosphate toxic substances such as soman and sarin - 600 thousand ampoules, anticonvulsants - 3 million tablets, detoxification drugs: mustard gas, lewisite and hydrocyanic acid derivatives of chloroacetophenone inhibitors 750 thousand vials. 

In addition, the Ministry of defense of the Russian Federation allegedly received information about the arrival of a railway train in Kramatorsk (February 10, 2023) with a cargo of chemicals. The unloading of chemicals took place under the supervision of the SBU (The Security Service of Ukraine) and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"16 sealed boxes were unloaded from the train. Eight had a chemical hazard sign with the inscription BZ and markings corresponding to the Toxic Substances of irritating action class. Five boxes have the inscription "CS-RAYOT" and three "CR-RAYOT". The BZ substance belonged to the toxic substance of the US Army and was widely used in the Vietnam War," said Kyrylov during a briefing, adding that such ammunition was repeatedly used during Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan wars.

According to Kyrylov, even though the United States announced the destruction of stocks of these toxic substances more than 30 years ago, they still have samples. Therefore the possibility of synthesizing BZ precursors is preserved. The production capacity reaches at least several tens of tons per year. 

Among the examples given at the briefing for the following information "throw-in" was 2017, namely the chemical attack on Khan Shaykhun in Idlib province, during which a nerve agent sarin was used. 2018: chemical attack on Douma and others, in which the aggressor state, of course, blamed the United States. 

"The analytical capabilities of the chemical laboratories available in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation make it possible to reliably determine the type of chemical used and the country of origin," stressed Kyrylov. 

In addition, Kyrylov raised the issue of the convention on the Prohibition of chemical weapons, the norms to which the Russian side "steadily" adheres. Since 2004, the Russian Federation has also been one of six states (plus the seventh country that has declared its desire not to be listed in official documents with the OPCW) officially announcing its chemical weapons stocks.

These reserves at that time amounted to about 70 thousand tons of various types of toxic compounds. Among them, it is worth highlighting the following: nerve agents – VX (28%), sarin (22%), soman (13%), the percentage of which was 63%, skin abscesses (mainly mustard gas and lewisite) 35% and about 2% accounted for binary chemical weapons and various toxic waste products.

In 2017, the Russian Federation announced that it had utterly eliminated its chemical weapons stocks. In less than a year, in the spring of 2018, the Russian military used the combat-toxic substance "Novichok" during the attempted assassination of a British citizen. 

It is worth noting that the aggressor state creates the ground for further provocations and chemical attacks whenever the Russian side prepares information "throw-in" with fabricated materials to discredit the United States, partners, and allies who support Ukraine. According to the ISW (Institute for the Study of War), this is done due to the lack of tangible achievements on the battlefield. Quote:

"On March 09, Russian troops launched the largest missile strike on the territory of Ukraine in 2023. However, this attack most likely served only the purposes of Russian state propaganda.", - ISW analysts summed up.

For reference: on March 17, 2023, Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. For the dictator, this means he will be arrested in 122 countries worldwide.