Ukraine Urges OPCW to Establish Attribution Mechanism for Russia’s Use of Chemical Weapons
During the 109th session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held in The Hague from July 8 to 11, Ukraine called on the international body to establish a formal attribution mechanism to hold Russia accountable for war crimes involving the use of chemical weapons, The Gaze reports.
The proposed mechanism would not only confirm the use of banned substances but also identify the perpetrators responsible for violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW Andriy Kostin stated.
Kostin highlighted the increasing use of toxic chemicals by Russian forces, particularly riot control agents (RCAs), as a method of warfare against Ukraine. From February 2023 to the present, Ukrainian authorities have documented 9,905 incidents involving munitions containing hazardous chemical substances. Additionally, 2,591 Ukrainian soldiers have sought medical attention for chemical exposure symptoms of varying severity.
The Ukrainian delegation referenced three substantive OPCW reports confirming the presence of CS gas in seven Russian-made RG-Vo grenades, as well as in soil and grass samples collected and submitted by Ukraine.
Such weapons, intended for riot control, create lethal conditions on the battlefield by forcing soldiers to abandon trenches and expose themselves to enemy fire — a clear violation of Article I(5) of the CWC, which bans the use of RCAs as a method of warfare due to their inhumane effects.
Kostin officially appealed to the OPCW Director-General and member states to support the creation of an independent and impartial mechanism under the CWC to investigate suspected use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Ukraine welcomed the European Union’s recent call for the OPCW to adopt an attribution mechanism following confirmed Russian use of chemical agents as a method of warfare.
Kostin also stressed the importance of maintaining Russia’s exclusion from the OPCW Executive Council for the third consecutive year and emphasized that impunity would only encourage further war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide not only against Ukraine but the broader international community.
“Today, Ukraine is defending its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity on the battlefield — while also using all available political and diplomatic means to uphold the principles of the Chemical Weapons Convention and strive for a world free from the threat of chemical weapons,” the delegation concluded.
As The Gaze previously reported, the Netherlands has publicly accused Russia of systematically deploying banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces, signaling what officials call a disturbing normalization of chemical warfare on the battlefield.