The United States argues that Russia violated the international ban on chemical weapons in Ukraine and is punishing Chinese enterprises for the war.

The State Department stated, “The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident.”

TFD – Explore the complex dynamics between Russia, the PRC, chemical weapons, and international sanctions, highlighting critical concerns.

The United States charged on Wednesday that Russia had deployed riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine and had used the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, in violation of the worldwide ban on chemical weapons.

The State Department stated in a statement that “the use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield.”

A request for response from the Russian embassy in Washington was not immediately answered, and Reuters was unable to independently confirm the usage of prohibited chemicals.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based in The Hague, was established to carry out and oversee adherence to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and it has identified chloropicrin as a prohibited choking agent. One of the earliest applications of a chemical weapon occurred during World War I when German forces used gas against Allied soldiers.

According to the statement, Moscow’s use of the gas “comes from the same playbook as its operations to poison” Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018 and the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020 with the Novichok nerve agent.

According to the statement, the agency also found that Russia had violated the CWC’s ban on using riot control agents in combat.

In a separate move, the State Department identified over 80 targets and the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on close to 200 targets, constituting one of the broadest measures taken by Washington against Chinese enterprises in relation to its sanctions against Russia.

The sanctions on 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong, followed repeated warnings from Washington about China’s support for Russia’s military, including during recent trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country.

One of the numerous problems threatening to spoil the recent improvement in relations between the two largest economies in the world is China’s backing for Russia.

“The U.S. is imposing them today on almost 300 targets, as the Treasury has consistently warned companies that providing material support for Russia’s war will face significant consequences,” Yellen stated in a statement.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Russian embassy in Washington.

The government regulates the export of dual-use goods in compliance with laws and regulations, according to Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington. She also noted that normal trade and economic relations between China and Russia follow market principles and WTO regulations.

He declared, “The Chinese side firmly opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions of the United States.”

Since Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the United States and its allies have placed sanctions on hundreds of targets. Tens of thousands have died and cities have been destroyed in this war.

Washington has since sought to crack down on evasion of the Western measures, including by issuing sanctions on firms in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Treasury’s action on Wednesday sanctioned nearly 60 targets located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia it accused of enabling Russia to “acquire desperately-needed technology and equipment from abroad.”

Company Treasury alleged that parts for making drones, like propellers, engines, and sensors, were shipped to a Russian company. Additional technology vendors situated in China and Hong Kong were also singled out. The action involved taking action against a China-based company

The State Department also levied penalties against four Chinese enterprises that it claimed were aiding Russia’s defense industrial base, allegedly by transferring vital goods to Russian entities that were subject to US sanctions, as well as companies in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Malaysia that it claimed were transferring high-priority goods to Russia.

The Department and the administration are focused at the highest levels on the issue of entities in the PRC providing supplies to Russia for its war. The explanation is quite straightforward: according to a senior State Department official, Russia is exploiting the PRC as its main source of vital parts for its defense industrial base, which it uses to carry out its conflict with Ukraine.

The Russian government would find it difficult to continue the military effort if the PRC stopped supporting the export of these goods.