Ukraine has joined the Joint Statement on behalf of 59 states in support of the full implementation of the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, including the prohibition of the use of riot control agents as a method of warfare. The Statement was delivered during the 29th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

We fully share the position that the use of chemical weapons and riot control agents as a method of warfare constitutes a blatant violation of international law and threatens the achievement of a world free of chemical weapons.

We highly value the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and partner states aimed at documenting and proving facts of the use of riot control agents by the Russian Federation as a method of warfare against Ukraine.

We would like to remind, that the recent OPCW report confirmed that the evidence provided by Ukraine, which was collected on the frontline in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, contains chemical elements that are related to riot control agents, which are regularly used by the Russian Federation in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Joint Statement draws special attention to numerous reports of the Russian Federation's use of riot control agents and other toxic chemical substances on the frontline in Ukraine.

Since February 2023, the Ukrainian side has documented 4,950 cases when the Russian Federation has used munitions containing hazardous chemical substances.

An important element of the Joint Statement is the commitment of the States Parties to support strengthening the capacity of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to provide technical assistance to Ukraine according to Article VIII of the Convention as well as to respond exhaustively on the use of chemical weapons and riot control agents as a method of warfare against Ukraine according to Article X of the Convention. 

The adoption of the Joint Statement has become another confirmation of the position of the international community that the Russian Federation will not escape accountability for its violations of international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention.