russia is spreading new fake about “chemical laboratories in Ukraine”
Pro-kremlin media, citing vladimir tarabrin, russia’s permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), claim that there is an ‘extensive network of laboratories for the mass production of toxic substances’ in Ukraine and ‘hundreds of cases of chemical weapons use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine’.
▫️The list of ‘evidence’ is traditional: references to anonymous reports from the russian ministry of defence, mentions of ‘Lilac gas’, CS/Chloracetophenone, ‘psychotropic substances’ and ‘hydrocyanic acid’ — without any verified data or OPCW procedures.
Ukraine is a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention and has no programmes for the creation or production of toxic substances for military use. The russian federation’s statements are not supported by official investigations or OPCW verification mechanisms. russia is manipulating concepts to create the illusion of ‘systematic use of chemical weapons’.
This is a continuation of the kremlin’s long-standing conspiracy theory about ‘secret bio and chemical laboratories in Ukraine.’ Over the years of information campaigns, russia has not provided any verified evidence of the existence of such facilities or programmes.
▫️The goal is to justify aggression, militarise the occupied territories, and heighten fear of imaginary ‘external threats’ by presenting the occupation as a ‘salvation.’ The kremlin is returning to old scare tactics when the lack of real arguments becomes apparent.
Earlier, the Centre reported on recent statements by aksyonov, the governor of the temporarily occupied Crimea, about ‘preventing’ the mythical Ukrainian ‘biolaboratory in Crimea’ and another lie about the alleged ‘use of chemical weapons by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Pokrovsk.’
