Russian authorities continue to lean on long-debunked narratives as part of its wider information operations aimed at discrediting and undermining Western support for Ukraine, ISW reported.

American analysts quote Russian Ambassador to The Hague Vladimir Tarabin, in an interview published on March 25, repeated the Kremlin’s denial that Ukraine is developing biological weapons in US and NATO-funded biolabs in Ukraine.

Tarabin also claimed that Ukrainian forces were “systematically” using a “wide range of toxic chemicals” against Russian troops in unspecified areas of the front, including chemicals banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

His reliance on the already discredited biolabs’ story casts doubt on his other claims. An unnamed Russian company commander also claimed that Ukrainian forces were using phosphorus munitions in unspecified areas of the Zaporizhzhia sector, which are not banned by the CWC in conventional warfare but are prohibited for use against civilians.

Russian army has used white phosphorus against urban areas in Ukraine, risking civilian harm on several occasions. Kremlin officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been accusing the West of continuing to fund biolabs in Ukraine since before the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Western media, officials and international organizations have long debunked this Russian narrative. These statements cannot be compared to Ukrainian and Russian reports of Russian forces using chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS) or chloropicrin (PS) gas, which are prohibited by the CWC, ratified by Russia in 1997.

Several Russian and Ukrainian sources provided evidence of the use of such banned chemicals against Ukrainian positions on the battlefield.

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