Remember when the civilized countries of the world believed using chemical weapons was a war crime not to be tolerated? And yet there are numerous credible media accounts that Russia has deployed chemical weapons in Ukraine. But apparently the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the media are too busy condemning Israel for defending itself to pay any attention to Russia’s war crimes. Even President Joe Biden, who warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use chemical weapons, is largely shrugging it off.
According to the BBC, “Ukraine says its troops have faced mounting chemical attacks in recent months. The Reuters news agency reported earlier this year that Russian forces had used grenades loaded with CS and CN tear gases. The report added that at least 500 Ukrainian soldiers have been treated for exposure to toxic gases, and that one had died after suffocating on tear gas.”
And it’s not the first time Russia has used chemical weapons. It has used nerve agents to poison individuals, such as the late opposition leader Aleksey Navalny and others.
In March 2022, Biden told the press, “I’m not going to speak about the intelligence, but Russia will pay a severe price if they use chemicals.” Well, Russia apparently has used them, so what’s the “severe price”?
Here’s what the State Department said in an announcement on May 1. “The Department of State has made a determination under the CBW Act [Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991] that Russia has used the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). We make this determination in addition to our assessment that Russia has used riot control agents as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC.” Russia is a signatory to the CWC.
The chemical agent being used is chloropicrin, “an oily substance which was widely used during World War One. It causes irritation of the lungs, eyes and skin and can cause vomiting, nausea and diarrhea, according to the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC).”
So how does the State Department intend to punish Putin and Russia for these egregious acts? According to State, “In this action, the Department of State is imposing sanctions on more than 80 entities and individuals, including those engaged in: development of Russia’s future energy, metals, and mining production and export capacity; sanctions evasion and circumvention; and furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine.”
Sanctioning more “entities” and individuals sounds pretty lame. We’ve been sanctioning Russia and individual Russians since the country invaded Ukraine in February of 2022.
It’s been six weeks since State imposed the sanctions. If they’re hurting Russia, Putin and those engaged in promoting Russian aggression against Ukraine, it’s not clear anyone can tell. Russia has even been on the offensive for the past several weeks.
Of course, the Kremlin denied the chemical weapons allegations, calling them “absolutely unfounded.” I think that’s also how Putin responded when the U.S. and other countries and news organizations said it appeared Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine in February of 2022.
In Biden’s unwillingness to impose a severe price on Russia, he may be following the lead of his mentor, former President Barack Obama. In December 2012, Obama delivered a similar warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command — the world is watching. … The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable. And if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable.”
This is the speech where Obama said Syria would be crossing a “red line” if it used chemical weapons. Well, Syria did, including against civilians, with thousands of deaths. And yet Obama backed off. No one, including Assad, has been held accountable.
Yes, there were some strategic air strikes, but nothing to really punish Assad, who remains in power to this day.
Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Ukraine marks a major escalation. And the lack of media, international and U.S. outrage marks a major de-escalation in how the civilized countries respond. Other dictators now know they can use chemical weapons and the UN, media and the U.S. will look the other way.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on X @MerrillMatthews.