The UK has officially placed sanctions on Russian troops belonging to the radiation, chemical and biological protection unit (CBR) and their commander for the deployment of "barbaric chemical weapons" in Ukraine, the Foreign Office has announced.
"Russian troops involved in the abhorrent use of inhumane chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine have today been targeted by new UK sanctions," the FCDO said in a statement.
It added that Russian forces have "openly admitted to using hazardous chemical weapons on the battlefield", with "widespread use of riot control agents and multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin", which was first deployed on the battlefield in WW1.
"Among those sanctioned today are the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of the Russian Armed Forces and its leader Igor Kirillov, responsible for helping deploy these barbaric weapons," the FCDO said.
