Russia Makes False Claim of Ukrainian Chemical Attack in Kursk Region

Pro-Russian milbloggers have begun to spread false claims on Telegram that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have carried out a chemical attack on Russian troop positions in the Kursk region, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD).

The posts say that the AFU resorted to a chemical attack due to the “impossibility of breaking through” Russian defenses.

“According to Russian propagandists, the Ukrainian army, in violation of international law, used chemical weapons on Russian positions,” the CCD said, but said the claims are entirely fabricated.

“Firstly, Ukraine is a signatory to the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and strictly adheres to its international obligations. Secondly, the Russians provide no evidence to support their claims, which is a clear indication that this is yet another fake,” the report read.

The CCD also highlighted that it is, in fact, Russian military personnel who have repeatedly released videos showing their troops using chemical weapons against Ukrainian positions.

“The spread of such disinformation is part of the Kremlin’s strategy to influence public perception regarding the events in the Kursk region,” the CCD added.

In May, the US State Department accused Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention by using a chemical weapon against Kyiv’s forces in eastern Ukraine.

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In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia allegedly used “riot control agents [tear gas] as a method of warfare in Ukraine,” which is also a violation of the CWC, according to a State Department fact sheet.

Following these accusations, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced that the information it received about the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine was “insufficiently substantiated.”

The OPCW also mentioned that it had not yet received an official request to investigate these claims, despite the US accusations against Russia.

“The information provided to the Organization so far by both sides, along with the information available to the Secretariat, is insufficiently substantiated,” the OPCW reported, though it described the situation as “volatile” and expressed concern about the potential re-emergence of chemical weapons use.

The Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk region, launched on Aug. 6, aimed to protect border residents from Russian shelling and establish a buffer zone, resulting in the capture of dozens of settlements, including Sudzha.

On Aug. 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian forces had gained control of over 1,250 square km (483 square miles) of territory and 92 settlements in the Kursk region.