The Russian Investigative Committee has recently launched a probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian drones near the towns of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) and Ugledar in Donbass amid Moscow’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.
This comes after the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, told reporters about "sickness" among Russian servicemen, which he said was caused by Ukrainian troops using chemical weapons against Russian soldiers. Kiev and its Western allies earlier issued counterclaims, accusing Russia of using or preparing to use its non-existent chemical weapons stocks.
With both Russia and Ukraine being signatories to the international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Sputnik takes a closer insight into the document.
What is the CWC?
The CWC is officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.
The document is an arms control treaty that is administered by the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and which entered into force on April 29, 1997.
The convention’s goal is "to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by states parties."
What Does the CWC Do?
As of December 31, 2022, the CWC has led to the following progress:
99% of the world’s declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been destroyed
Total destroyed stockpiles of chemical agents stand at 71,946 metric tons
Which Countries Haven't Signed the Convention?
As of today, a total of 193 countries have become parties to the CWC. Israel has signed, but not ratified the convention, while Egypt, North Korea, and the Republic of South Sudan have neither signed nor acceded to the treaty.
Israel says that it will only ratify the document when Egypt does so. Cairo, in turn, pledged to join the CWC only if Tel Aviv becomes a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which Egypt claims may end Israel's alleged policy of ambiguity about its nuclear capability.
Is Russia a Signatory to the CWC?
Russia inked the CWC on January 13, 1993, and ratified the convention on November 5, 1997. At the time, Moscow declared an arsenal of 39,967 tons of chemical weapons, which consisted of blister agents (Lewisite, mustard) and nerve agents (Sarin, Soman, and VX).
Last fall, Russian Deputy Representative on Disarmament at the UN First Committee Konstantin Vorontsov said that Moscow was calling on Washington to follow its example and eliminate US chemical weapons stockpiles.
“In 2017, three years ahead of the deadline set by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), we destroyed one of the world's largest chemical weapons arsenals,” he stressed, in an apparent reference to the about 40,000 tons of chemical weapons dismantled by Russia.
On September 27, 2017, the OPCW announced that Russia had destroyed its entire declared chemical weapons stockpile.
As for Ukraine, it signed and then ratified the CWC in 1998. In its fact sheet, issued in June 2022, the US Department of Defense said - without providing any evidence - that Ukraine “has consistently demonstrated its commitment to uphold the international norm against the use of chemical weapons, including through its participation at the OPCW and its implementation of its obligations under the CWC.” However, the Pentagon remained tight-lipped on Ukraine’s chemical weapons stockpiles and whether it was destroyed.