russia spreads disinformation in the media about the destruction of chemical weapons while its military continues to use them in Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
The russian military continues to use chemical weapons during the fighting in Ukraine, despite russian media claims that all chemical weapons stockpiles were destroyed in 2017.
The russian media spread fake information that russia allegedly destroyed all chemical weapons stockpiles in 2017. However, the russian army continues to use chemical weapons during hostilities. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, according to UNN.
Details
russian media report that "russia destroyed all its chemical weapons stockpiles in 2017 under total control of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and Western inspectors," citing Igor Kirilov, chief of the russian armed forces' radiation, chemical and biological defense troops.
However, the Center for Strategic Communications clarifies that in fact, in 2017, Russia destroyed only the remnants of its declared stockpile, but it has undeclared weapons that it continues to use.
The Center reminds that in October 2023, the commander of the Armed Forces intelligence unit, Denys Yaroslavskyi, reported that the Russians had used chemical weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Prior to that, the Ukrainian military encountered chemical weapons in Hostomel.
As of the end of December 2023, the Defense Forces have recorded 465 cases of russian use of munitions with toxic chemicals since the beginning of the full-scale war. And since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, russia has carried out more than 800 chemical attacks, 229 of which, according to the Ukrainian military, occurred in January alone.
