US Stores Dangerous Reactive Materials After Destroying Its Chemical Weapons - MoD
© AP Photo / Douglas C. PizacThis April 30, 2001 file photo shows a safety vehicle passing a compound filled with 170-gallon containers of mustard and blister agent at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Tooele, Utah
© AP Photo / Douglas C. Pizac
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Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian armed forces, said that Russia has recorded cases of use of US chemical munitions by Ukrainian troops during the special military operation.
Two facilities in the United States are still storing highly toxic reaction masses left after the destruction of declared American chemical weapons.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the chief of the Russian Armed Forces' radiological, chemical and biological defense troops, made the damning revelation in a briefing on Monday.
The US was supposed to complete the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpiles in 2007, but had not yet done so as of 2023, Kirillov noted.
"The United States still has highly toxic reaction masses remaining after the destruction of toxic substances at the Blue Grass (Kentucky) and Pueblo (Colorado) facilities," Kirillov said.
The US removed aerial bombs, artillery and rocket-propelled chemical munitions containing mustard gas and sarin from Iraq in 2003-2011, the location of which is unknown, Kirillov stressed.
"On Iraqi territory in 2003-2011, the United States identified more than 4,500 aerial bombs, artillery and rocket-propelled chemical munitions containing mustard gas and sarin, some of which were disposed of locally without the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' (OPCW) sanction, and others were exported to the United States. Their further fate is unknown," Kirillov told reporters.
Until recently, the US regularly found unaccounted chemical munitions in its artillery arsenals, which were destroyed without promptly telling the OPCW, Kirillov added.
"Until recently, the Americans regularly found unaccounted chemical munitions in their artillery arsenals, which they destroyed unilaterally without timely notification to the OPCW. Such incidents have occurred in Anniston, Alabama; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Fort Greely, Alaska. The OPCW has not made any claims against the Americans for violating Article III of the Convention," he said.
The United States retains significant interest in the use of riot control chemicals as a tool of warfare, Kirillov said.
"Washington continues to show great interest in the use of chemical riot control agents as a tool of warfare. In 2007, the US adopted a military-wide charter on the use of non-lethal weapons, and in 2015, the General Staff Committee approved the 'Guidelines for the Implementation of the Provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention'. These documents define the procedure for the use of non-lethal chemical weapons by military units during special, humanitarian and anti-terrorist operations and peacekeeping missions," he said.
Kirillov noted that while the US previously spoke of using such weapons only in response to chemical aggression by an enemy, the new rules crucially include the possibility of unilateral use of toxic chemicals.
US Delivered Non-Lethal Chemical Weapons to Third Countries
The United States transferred non-lethal chemical weapons to third countries in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Igor Kirillov pointed out.
"More evidence of the United States violating the [Chemical Weapons] Convention is the transfer of non-lethal chemical weapons to third countries (Iraq, Afghanistan & Ukraine). The US Department of Defense's budget planning department allocated $10 million in fiscal year 2018 to purchase these weapons for use in combat zones in Syria and Iraq," Kirillov told reporters.
In addition, the Pentagon's internal rules allow the use of toxic chemicals in special operations on a 'preventive' basis, while previously it was permitted only in response to enemy chemical aggression, the official said.
US Declared 460 Tonnes of Novichok-Class Toxic Substances up Until 2018
Until 2018, the US reported an annual declaration of 460 tonnes of unidentified nerve toxin agents, Kirillov stressed.
"Until 2018, the United States indicated 460 tonnes of unidentified toxic substances in annual documents, which is about two percent of the total stock," Kirillov told the briefing.
According to the ministry, the compounds belonged to the Novichok class, he added.