Russia-Ukraine: Russia claims Ukraine is preparing to use 'special chemical belt' - and accuses US of breaching Chemical Weapons Convention

Russia has claimed Ukraine is preparing for a chemical attack on its troops

Russia has accused Ukraine of planning combat operations using a "special chemical belt", by detonating tanks of hydrocyanic acid and ammonia as Russian troops advance.

The Kremlin's chief of nuclear, chemical and biological protection, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, also claimed the Russian-installed head of Luhansk had been "severely poisoned" with phenolic compounds, in what it said was one of a number of poisoning attacks on high-ranking officials.

This comes just days after Ukraine accused Russia of intensifying chemical attacks on the battlefield.

Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, has accused Ukraine of using chemical weapons.

In a statement from Lt Gen Kirillov posted to the Russian Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Telegram account, Russia said it had submitted its "concerns" about Ukraine using chemical weapons to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and had not had a response, four months later.

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Russia has also accused the US of breaking the Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified in 1997, by allegedly supplying components for chemical weapons to Ukraine. This included a drone attack using US-manufactured gas grenades containing tear gas, which it said were dropped on Russian troops in December.

In November, Russia lost its seat on the executive board of OPCW and was replaced by Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. The move, Russia has claimed, has created "another international platform” that it said was “fully controlled by the USA and used by them for settling political accounts with undesirable countries”.

Russia said specific requests made by Ukraine to Western allies for equipment to protect individuals against chemical weapons, such as specialised gas masks and antidotes, pointed to an expectation that chemical weapons would be used, saying the volumes of the equipment requested by Ukraine are “excessive for a country that does not have chemical weapons”.

"According to available information, the Kiev regime, with the assistance of Western curators, is developing new tactics for conducting combat operations using a 'special chemical belt’," the Russian MoD said.

"It involves detonating tanks of hydrocyanic acid and ammonia as Russian troops advance. From September to October 2023, the specified chemicals were delivered to areas of Kramatorsk and Kupyansk, which are planned to be placed along motorways and at major transport interchanges.”

The update added: “It is expected that such tactics will significantly hamper the activity of offensive operations of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and give Kiev additional time to prepare defensive lines in Zaporozhye, Kharkov, and Sumy regions.”

It claimed the US's involvement in weapon supply was a breach of the convention.

The update said: "The very fact that the US is supplying such munitions in a military conflict is a violation of article one of the Convention, which obliges states parties to 'never under any circumstances transfer directly or indirectly chemical weapons to anyone'.”

Earlier this month, Ukraine accused Russia of using toxic chemicals in more than 200 attacks on the battlefield in January alone. It has claimed Russia has deployed chloropicrin, a poison gas used in World War One, as well as tear gas.

The Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and OPCW have been contacted for comment.