OPCW Must Act Against Russia’s Chemical Weapons Program

In The Hague last week, member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) failed to act against Moscow’s use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops. As a result, Russia continues stockpiling and using these banned weapons with impunity.

For more than a year, Ukraine, the United States, Canada, Japan, multiple European countries, and the European Union have alleged that Moscow is using chemical weapons to incapacitate Ukrainian troops. These states allege that throughout Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, Moscow has used riot-control agents (RCAs) — which parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) undertake not to use in warfare — as well as chloropicrin, a World War I-era chemical that causes choking and that the CWC also bans for use in warfare.

The Ukrainian Support Forces, a military unit whose duties include nuclear, chemical, and biological weapon defense, has documented some 250 instances of Russia attacking Ukrainian troops with chloropicrin and RCA-filled grenades, and more than 4,000 cases overall of Moscow’s prohibited use of RCAs. Ukraine said previously at the OPCW that nearly 2,000 troops had received medical treatment and two had died from the attacks.

The U.S. State Department confirmed Ukraine’s allegations about Russia’s use of RCAs and raised concern about Moscow’s use of chloropicrin in a May arms control compliance report. Since 2023, the OPCW has also provided emergency chemical weapon response and detection training as well as masks to Ukraine.

In October 2023, seven OPCW member states, including the United States, formally asked Russia to clarify its use of chemical weapons in Ukraine under CWC Article IX, which required Moscow to respond. Five states later joined the inquiry. Predictably, Russia denied the allegations and claimed that Ukraine was using chemical weapons against Russian troops. The OPCW has taken no further action.

Although access to Ukraine’s front lines is difficult, Ukraine should request the OPCW secretariat to investigate Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, take samples, and conduct interviews. Article X of the CWC specifically provides for OPCW assistance if a state believes chemical weapons or RCAs have been used against it.

In addition, the OPCW Executive Council — the 41-member policy-making body — should issue an ultimatum for Russia to demonstrate compliance with the CWC within 90 days or face suspension of its OPCW voting rights and privileges. The council took the same approach with Syria before suspending Damascus’s rights in 2021. The suspension successfully limited not only Syria’s influence and troublemaking at the OPCW but also Russia’s. The council has ample opportunity to act since it blocked Russia from holding a seat during the council’s current term.

As is so often the case, effective multilateral action depends on strong leadership from the United States. It is time for Washington to step up, rather than letting the OPCW meander along on its own.

Andrea Stricker is a research fellow and deputy director of the Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from the author and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Andrea on X @StrickerNonpro. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.