Claims and counter claims on chemical weapons in the Ukraine-Russia conflict

Ukraine claim its forces have seized items related to chemical warfare from Russian troops. The items are gas masks. The seizure is after the West warned about possibility of use of chemical weapons by Russia in its barbaric invasion. The Ministry of Defense brought forward images of the captured equipment. These included World War II era helmets and other items of the military. On the other hand, a spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Ukraine was running biological weapons labs with support from the United States. The West has dismissed these allegations.

The invasion is into its third week and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the threat of Russian forces deploying chemical weapons is “very real.” There are fears of Russia using chemical weapons. This is borne out by the masks that Russia has issued to its troops. Prime Minister of Britain Boris Johnson echoed the concerns of Zelensky. The Prime Minister said Russia is preparing a “fake story.” it wants to deny using such weapons and blame the West. Russia has already accused Ukraine of a chemical weapons strike without providing any evidence. Officials believe the accusation could be an excuse for launching their own attack. Russia has a stockpile of chemical weapons but these have not been in combat for decades.

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dailymail.co.uk dated 11/3/2022

Fear mounts that ISIS have used chemical weapons against Kurds in Kobani

Doctors who are treating injured people of Kobani have discovered wounds that could have resulted from exposure to chemical weapons and there are fears that the ISIS have laid their hands on such weapons theguardian.com.

Patients who have arrived for treatment have blisters, complain of burning eyes apart from breathing difficulties – such symptoms are usually associated with chemical weapons. Moreover, the patients reported a bad smell which also produced allergic reaction.
It is believed that Islamic State (ISIS) have obtained stocks of ageing but still potent chemical weapons when it seized Iraqi army bases where they were stored. It seems in June, ISIS had taken control of a sprawling complex in the heart of Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons program.

Moreover, there are doubts that chemical weapons might have been buried or abandoned elsewhere and had escaped the eyes of the watchdogs and were not destroyed by US forces or the Iraqi military.
Incidentally, stocks manufactured prior to 1991 are dirty, corroded and not always easy to identify or use, but are dangerous and can still cause serious injury.

Do the IS militants have access to chemical weapons?

The IS militants have proved by beheading of innocent US and British persons that they are a bloodthirsty lot and, it now seems that they have access to chemical weapons foxnews.com.

This is an inference that has been drawn from videos that depict dead people with wounds that would end indicate burning of facial muscles through contact with chemicals.
It is not yet established whether these have any link to the chemical weapons of ex-President Saddam Hussein of Iraq or of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria or whether the IS militants have made the weapons themselves by procuring the necessary chemicals.
The video show images of the dead Syrian Kurds with large areas of white, blistered skin apparently having been burned away. And, experts are of the opinion that the chemical weapons were used on July 12, in the village of Avidko, close to Kobani.

This is the Kurdish town on the Turkish border that is now the scene of fierce fighting between Kurds and Islamic State forces.