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BREAKING
Israeli airstrikes targeted an area between southern Lebanon's Houmine al-Fawqa
and Deir al-Zahrani.
Israeli media platform: The Israeli delegation headed by the head of Mossad and
the head of the Shin Bet arrived in Qatar
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone targeted the outskirts of the town
of Jbal al-Butum in South Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli army force infiltrated
toward the western outskirts of the town of al-Dhayrah and blew up a house
before withdrawing
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli force infiltrates the
northern outskirts of the town of Maroun al-Ras from the direction of Bint Jbeil
and conducts a combing operation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli force infiltrated today
toward Al-Majidiya, the Wadi Khansa junction, and the outskirts of the Mari
plain
Nuseirat Municipality: We announce the complete halt of our basic services
within 48 hours due to the depletion of fuel supplies
Gaza Health Ministry: This brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the
Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7, 2023, to 46,565, in addition to
109,660 injuries
Gaza Health Ministry: The Israeli occupation committed 2 massacres against
families in the Gaza Strip, killing 28 and injuring 89 others who arrived at
hospitals during the past 24 hours
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli occupation issued new evacuation orders
for a residential area in northern Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, including
Al-Awda Hospital




THE LARGE-SCALE PURCHASE OF TRIETHANOLAMINE BY KIEV AND THE OPCW'S BIAS

 * Alex Lloyd
 * Source: Al Mayadeen English
 * 4 Sep 2024 13:48
 * 2 Shares

10 Min Read

If Russia checks up on Ukraine's ongoing triethanolamine supplies with Kiev's
stockpiles seemingly replenished, will it be able to use CWC Article 10 amid a
threat of possible toxic chemical attack against it?

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Has Ukraine notified the OPCW of the large amounts of triethanolamine listed in
CWC Schedule 3, whose stockpile has been replenished in Ukraine since 2022 by an
unknown supplier? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)


STATEMENT BY THE OPCW SPOKESPERSON ON UKRAINE

On May 7, 2024, Elisabeth Waechter, the spokesperson for the Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), delivered a statement touching upon
the Russia-Ukraine war.

OPCW spokesperson Elisabeth Waechter

Ms. Waechter hastened to assure that the OPCW Technical Secretariat had been
monitoring the situation in Ukraine since the outbreak of clashes in February
2022 in relation to allegations of the use of chemical weapons.

It was emphasized that both Russia and Ukraine put forward mutual accusations of
employing prohibited substances during hostilities. Still, the information
provided to the OPCW by both parties so far, as well as the data available to
the Secretariat was insufficiently substantiated.

The OPCW spokesperson also noted that the situation remained unstable and
extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of the use of toxic
chemicals as weapons.

OPCW statement on Ukraine


OPCW SUPPORT TO UKRAINE

According to the statement, the OPCW is obliged to continue its support to
Ukraine in the field of assistance and protection against chemical weapons under
Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The article mentioned
provides for assistance and protection to States Parties under chemical weapons
attack or threatened by it.

OPCW supplied Ukraine with LCD 3.3 detectors in July 2024.

It is particularly well-known that OPCW experts visited Ukraine at the request
of the country's leadership on 2 and 3 July, 2024, bringing around some 70 LCD
3.3 detectors (advanced devices alerting to gas and vapor threats and detecting
at or below levels immediately dangerous to life and health). Detectors can
identify the agent or chemical exposure, as well as the class, concentration,
and dosage. The guest OPCW experts also trained 20 officers of the State
Emergency Service of Ukraine (GSChS), including first responders, firefighters
and doctors in the city of Uzhgorod.

Today no one will be surprised that the EU or NATO member states help Ukraine.
The majority of Western democracies oppose Russia, and no OPCW visit to Ukraine
can raise any questions. However, this gesture reveals double standards that the
OPCW systematically applies. This year, Russia, for the first time in the
Organization’s history has no seat on the OPCW Executive Council, since three
seats allocated to the Eastern European region were granted to Ukraine, Poland,
and Lithuania in late 2023.

US Ambassador to the OPCW, Nicole Champaign, declared at a meeting of the OPCW
Executive Council in July 2024 that without Russia in the body to direct its
voting coalition, decisions could pass easily.

Both statements like this, and public initiatives, i.e. delivering critical
chemical weapons detection equipment to only one of the two parties to the
conflict, alongside the reported lack of evidence of use of toxic weapons by
Ukraine or Russia, indicate a deepening politicization of the OPCW. Yet the
international organization is neither a military alliance nor an economic or
political association.



On the Internet, especially on the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking internet,
there are lots and lots of news, photos, and video clips depicting alleged cases
of use of chemical weapons by both the Ukrainian and Russian military.
Unfortunately, in active information and psychological warfare between the two
sides, it is impossible to find out which accusation is reasonable and true.

While Ukraine blames the Russian troops for the use of chloropicrin, Russia
adduces proof that Kiev has employed other toxic substances. At the same time,
again, in the midst of Russia’s confrontation with European countries caused by
the war, the US adopted another package of sanctions against Russia on May 1,
2024. New countermeasures referred to the alleged use of chemical weapons
against Ukraine, specifically chloropicrin, which is listed as Schedule 3 under
the Chemical Weapons Convention. Why does the OPCW refuse then to investigate
allegations directly in the country where chemical weapons were reportedly
employed? There is obviously a shortage of data and facts necessary at least to
have a Technical Secretariat investigation faked.


CHEMICAL WEAPONS STILL EXIST

All declared stocks of chemical weapons in the world were finally destroyed in
July 2023, as the US eliminated its last stockpile, missing all deadline
extensions. Nonetheless, in her statement, Elisabeth Waechter hit the nail on
the head noting that didn’t mean chemical weapons no longer existed. Indeed,
under CWC Article II paragraph 2, any chemical used to cause harm or death
through its chemical action is considered a chemical weapon. The definition
covers, among other things, the employment of dual-use toxic chemicals produced
by the chemical industry for purposes other than those originally declared and
not prohibited. A variety of such substances listed in Schedules 2 and 3 is
numbered in the CWC Annex on Chemicals.

In total, the Annex contains three Schedules listing toxic chemicals that are
subject to control under the CWC.

 * Schedule 1 includes chemicals that have been developed, produced, stockpiled,
   or used as chemical weapons and pose a high risk (mustard gas, ricin,
   lewisite, and almost all nerve agents). According to the CWC requirements, a
   country is prohibited to possess over one tonne of the materials listed in
   Schedule 1, while production of more than 100 grams of chemicals per year
   must be declared to the OPCW.
 * The second list (Schedule 2) embraces precursors to Schedule 1 chemicals and
   those which are considered to pose a significant risk to the subject and
   purpose of the Convention. Their manufacture is to be declared to the OPCW
   and there are restrictions on export to countries that are not CWC
   signatories.
 * Schedule 3 involves substances of great importance in the production of
   Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 chemicals. Besides, they are largely used in the
   chemical industry and produced commercially in vast quantities for purposes
   not prohibited by the CWC. Plants which manufacture over 30 tons annually
   must be declared to the OPCW. A free export of the Schedule 3 chemicals to
   countries that are not CWC signatories is also limited.


CWC SCHEDULE 3: TRIETHANOLAMINE

List of CWC Schedule 3 substances

Schedule 3 chemicals are of special interest. Ms.Waechter remarked accurately
that chemical weapons include the employment of dual-use substances produced by
the chemical industry for illegal activities. A good example is triethanolamine,
which is very common in household and professional detergents, and at the same
time serves as a precursor to Schedule 1 chemical warfare agent nitrogen
mustard, capable of inflicting severe burns and blistering. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense has recently published papers confirming
deliveries of more than 480 tons of triethanolamine to Ukraine between December
2022 and July 2024. The reports cover data from only one company named
Engineering Center Reagent.

Report on the import of 111 tons of triethanolamine dated 01/02/2023

 

Report on the import of 85 tons of triethanolamine dated 03/13/2023

 

Report on the import of 161 tons of triethanolamine dated 07/19/2024

 

Report on the import of 80 tons of triethanolamine dated 07/19/2024

 

Report on the import of 51 tons of triethanolamine dated 07/19/2024

 


ENGINEERING CENTER REAGENT

Information about Engineering Center Reagent, Ukrainian triethanolamine importer

 

Physical address of Engineering Center Reagent, Ukrainian triethanolamine
importer

AO Engineering Center Reagent is a Ukrainian company concerned with wholesale
chemical products, intermediary activities in the trade of a wide range of
goods, etc.

The company is headed by Ms. Zinukhova Larisa Nikitichna.

The legal address is Dnipro, St. Labor Reserves, 6.

Its physical address is Dnipro, Startovaya St., 11a.

Triethanolamine is to be declared on an annual basis due to Part VIII of the CWC
Verification Annex

 

State parties are demanded to declare triethanolamine annually according to CWC
Article VI paragraph 8

It is of vital importance to notice that triethanolamine is listed in the CWC
Annex on Chemicals and is subject to annual declaration under CWC Article 6,
paragraph 8 and Verification Annex Part VIII. Still, Kiev is unlikely to have
reported receiving a fairly big batch of the compound. Doubts are reinforced by
the lack of publicly available proof that the product is used for non-malicious
purposes. Moreover, the only tender of the importing company, Engineering Center
Reagent, to supply triethanolamine dates back to July 5, 2023, which may also
indicate that Ukraine is deliberately trying to conceal previous supplies of the
dual-use chemical from the Organization.

Triethanolamine import tender, Engineering Center Reagent listed as bidder

As far as the above-noted tender is concerned, at least one party is well-known,
and it is a buyer represented by Ukrainian chemical plant Sumykhіmprom (its
director is Zakharenko Valery Vladimirovich). Unfortunately, there is no
information as to who was the final recipient of all the other chemicals
delivered by Engineering Center Reagent. The same story is with manufacturers
from whom the company imported triethanolamine.

Ukrainian chemical industry plant Sumykhіmprom

A thorough analysis of the Engineering Center Reagent reporting documentation
published by the Russian military department brings us to a conclusion that it
was the State Export Control Service of Ukraine (Derzhexportkontrol) that issued
several one-time permissions for imported batches of chemicals listed in CWC
Schedule 3. A report template similar to those mentioned above is to be found on
the Derzhexportkontrol website.

An import/export report template presented on the website of the State Export
Control Service of Ukraine

 

Powers of the State Export Control Service

The crucial tasks of the Service include, among others, the following:

 * Implementation of state policy in the field of state control over
   international transfers of military, dual-use goods, etc.;
 * Ensuring protection of national interests and promoting Ukraine's
   international authority during the exercise of state control over
   international transfers of goods by ensuring the fulfillment of Ukraine's
   international obligations related to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass
   destruction, their means of delivery, and limiting transfers of conventional
   weapons in order to prevent their use for terrorist and other illegal
   purposes;
 * Provision of administrative services in the field of state export control in
   cases stipulated by law.

It’s conceivable that the control body of Ukraine, empowered by law, may have
permitted triethanolamine import without notifying the responsible international
organizations.

The import reports produced by Engineering Center Reagent indicate that the
person responsible for export control compliance is director Zinukhova Larisa
Nikitichna. She confirmed in writing that the triethanolamine transfers were
subject to international reporting.

Since every person and body involved perfectly understood their tasks and
obligations, only one question which remains open: Has Ukraine notified the OPCW
of the large amounts of triethanolamine listed in CWC Schedule 3, whose
stockpile has been replenished in Ukraine since 2022 by an unknown supplier?
Indeed, Verification Annex Part VIII statesm "The initial and annual
declarations to be provided by the State Party <...> include aggregate national
data for the previous calendar year on the quantities produced, imported and
exported of each Schedule 3 chemical, as well as quantitative specification of
import and export for each country involved." 

Interestingly, if Russia checks up on Ukraine's ongoing triethanolamine
supplies, will Russia be able to use CWC Article 10? After all, each State party
can receive assistance and protection if it is exposed to a threat of toxic
weapon attack. It sounds rhetorical, as the OPCW is quite unlikely to supply
Russia with LCD 3.3 detectors, pointing out the lack of available evidence.
However, this was the very courtesy the international organization extended to
Ukraine. In fact, the OPCW sided with Kiev, supporting the politicized trend set
by the EU and NATO.

The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of
Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.
 * war in Ukraine
 * Ukraine
 * Chemical Weapons
 * OPCW
 * Russia


ALEX LLOYD

Expert on nonproliferation of biological and chemical weapons; author.


RUSSIA & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis
worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military
aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across
Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?




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