Washington: The US Department of State on Wednesday accused Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine, such as the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, and announced sanctions against over 280 individuals and entities for foreign aggression and internal repression. Washington also accused Russia of violating an international chemical weapons ban and using riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine.
The State Department announced that it is re-imposing restrictions on foreign military financing, US Government lines of credit, and export licences for defence articles and national security-sensitive items going to Russia. The Department also sanctioned three Russian government entities associated with Russia’s chemical and biological weapons programmes and four Russian companies that have contributed to such entities.