Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s chemical and biological defense force said that Moscow has evidence that Ukraine is preparing to stage a chemical weapons attack on itself to blame Russia, according to a report on RT on Monday.
“[Moscow] has information about Ukraine’s preparation of false flag attacks aimed at accusing Russia of using toxic substances during the special military operation,” Kirillov said in Russia, according to RT.
Kirillov said that he will provide said proof to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Sputnik reported Monday that the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukrainian Forces have used chemical shells in the Russian town of Sudzha within the Kursk region.
“Russian troops in August revealed facts of Ukraine’s covert use of chemical weapons under the guise of smoke shells, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense of the Russian armed forces, said on Monday,” Sputnik reported Monday.
Kirillov also stated on Monday that Russia had not received a substantive response from the OPCW as of yet.
“Back in July, the US ambassador to the OPCW, Nicole Shampaine, explained the shipments by claiming that the Russian military routinely targets Ukraine with riot control agents and chemical weapons,” RT reported Monday. “Kirillov, however, dismissed the allegations as ‘completely unfounded’, recalling that the OPCW had already confirmed in 2017 that Russia had completely destroyed all of its chemical weapons stockpiles. The destruction process was monitored both by the agency and inspectors from Western countries, including the U.S.”