Chemical weapons in the genocide of the invasion of Ukraine… Western pressures against Russia for crimes against humanity

Russia’s ‘anti-human aggressor’ brand strengthens international isolation

The West, including the United States, is putting pressure on Russia with ‘crimes against humanity’ during the war.

As the situation grew that Russia had massacred civilians in occupied territories in Ukraine, the West defined them as ‘war crimes’ and ‘genocide’, and recently focused on suspicions that Russia used chemical weapons.

Massacre and chemical weapons are the most extreme forms of catastrophe that can occur during war.

The West is highlighting this, and it seems that this war is not simply a military confrontation, but a public opinion battle that isolates Russia as an ‘anti-human aggressor’ and a ‘war criminal’.

This is because Russia’s traditional allies, not only China, but also pro-American countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India, are lukewarm to the pressure of the West on Russia.

The case in which Russia’s ‘morality’ began to be discussed in earnest was the ‘secondary massacre’.

Suspicion of a genocide of civilians by the Russian military became public when hundreds of bodies were found in Bucha, a small town in northern Kyiv, recovered by Ukrainian forces earlier this month.

The West has criticized it as a war crime and tightened economic sanctions.

Recently, Russia’s use of chemical weapons has become a hot topic.

The Azou Regiment of Ukrainian militia fighting in Mariupol, southern Ukraine, said in a telegram on the 12th that Russian troops used drones in the city with chemical weapons, claiming that people suffered breathing difficulties and mobility problems.

In response, US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said he was not in a position to confirm this, but said that he had reliable information that Russia may have used a ‘chemical agent’ in Mariupol, suggesting that the suspicion was not simply raised.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said on social media that the Russian military is confirming the use of chemical weapons with the allies, adding that “the tension will escalate, and Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime will be held accountable.” .

Pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk province, eastern Ukraine, who took part in the Battle of Mariupol, strongly deny this.

If the prohibited use of chemical weapons is confirmed as one of the worst inhumane military actions, war could enter a new phase in that the ‘red line’ (limit line) set by the West would be crossed.

This means that NATO forces can directly intervene in the war.

In this regard, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech to the nation on the 12th that “it is still difficult to conclude 100% what kind of substance it was.

“Considering Russia’s repeated threats to use chemical weapons against the Mariupol defense force and the Russian military’s use of white phosphorus bombs, the world must take preemptive action now,” he said.

At present, the general view of experts is that there is insufficient evidence to prove the use of chemical weapons.

Hamish de Breton Gordon, a chemical weapons expert and former commander of the CBRN unit of the NATO Rapid Response Force, said that samples obtained locally would need to be investigated in other countries to determine whether they were used for the BBC. pointed out that this was necessary.

Biochemical weapons expert Dan Casetta also told the British daily The Guardian that it is difficult to know whether it is being used remotely, given that the current video presented by the Azou Regiment is the only evidence.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a chemical weapons monitoring organization, is also concerned about alleged Russian use of chemical weapons in Mariupol, but has not confirmed it.

“The OPCW will not send a team to investigate Mariupolo because staff safety is not guaranteed at the battlefield,” Mark-Michael Bloom, who served as the director of OPCW’s internal laboratory, told The Associated Press.

Nevertheless, suspicions about the use of chemical weapons around Russia are due to their past history.

The OPWC believes that Russian-backed government forces used chemical weapons against rebels several times during the Syrian civil war.

Politico, a US political media outlet, commented that if the use of chemical weapons was confirmed, the West could impose stronger sanctions on Russia or reinforce Ukraine’s military power.

/yunhap news