The war in Ukraine increases the risk of the use of weapons of mass destruction

Photo: EPA-EFE /

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased the threat of using weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said today. Fernando Arias.

At the annual meeting of the OPCW, he added that the Organization is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine.

"The situation in Ukraine has again raised the real threat of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons," Arias said at a meeting at the organization's headquarters in The Hague, stressing the importance of the unity of the international community in facing common global challenges related to peace and security.

International disarmament organizations like the OPCW, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, "have become sites of conflict and disagreement," he said.

Arias reminded Russia and Ukraine that they are among 193 countries that have "solemnly and voluntarily pledged never, under any circumstances, to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transport or use chemical weapons."

He recalled that the OPCW provided Ukraine, at its request, with training of people for emergency intervention in case of chemical attacks

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