U.S. accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine, in breach of global ban

The U.S. has formally accused Russia of using chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops and announced late Wednesday that it is imposing more sanctions on Russian individuals and entities.

The U.S. State Department released a statement late Wednesday in which it accused Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the production and use of chemical weapons, by using the "choking agent" chloropicrin against Ukrainian forces.

"We make this determination in addition to our assessment that Russia has used riot control agents [tear gas] as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC. The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces' desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield," the statement said.

The Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, rebuffed the accusations when asked to comment by reporters Thursday.

"Yes, we saw the news on this matter. As always, such announcements sound absolutely unfounded and are not supported by anything. Russia has been and remains committed to its obligations under international law in this area," Peskov told reporters, news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Chloropicrin was used as a poison gas in World War I but is now more commonly utilized in agriculture as an insecticide. No longer authorized for military use, the choking agent inflicts injury mainly on the respiratory tract. It irritates the nose, throat and especially the lungs.

"When inhaled, these agents cause alveoli, air sacs in the lungs, to secrete fluid, essentially drowning those affected," the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons states.

In February, Ukraine accused Russia of