Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. File
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The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on May 7 that information it had received until now on alleged chemical weapons use in Ukraine was “insufficiently substantiated.”

Also read:Explained | Chemical and biological weapons: what international regulations bind Russia?

The OPCW also said it had not yet received an official request to investigate any claims after the United States accused Russia last week of using the toxic agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.

“Both the Russian Federation and Ukraine have accused one another and reported allegations of use of chemical weapons to the Organisation,” the OPCW said in a statement.

“The information provided to the Organisation so far by both sides, together with the information available to the Secretariat, is insufficiently substantiated,” the group added.

The OPCW nevertheless described the situation as “volatile” and “extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons.”

Last week, the U.S. State Department accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia also used “riot control agents [tear gas] as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC,” the department said in a factsheet.

Chloropicrin is an oily liquid with a pungent odour known as a choking agent that was widely used during World War I as a form of tear gas.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention label it a “lung-damaging agent” that can cause severe irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory systems.

The OPCW specifically prohibits its use.

Although it does produce tears and is sometimes referred to as a tear gas, it is not classed as a riot control agent.

The Kremlin hit back immediately at the allegations, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying they “sound completely baseless and unsubstantiated.”

Russia has said it no longer possesses a military chemical arsenal, but the country faces pressure for more transparency over the alleged use of toxic weapons.

Moscow has signed and ratified the CWC, which outlaws the production and use of chemical weapons.

“Russia has been and remains committed to its obligations under international law,” Mr. Peskov said last week.

The OPCW recalled in its statement that a member of the body would have to formally request an investigation of any allegation regarding chemical weapons use.

“So far, the Secretariat has not yet received any such request for action,” the OPCW said.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and maintain our readiness to deploy.”

“A third man has been detained in a bribery case involving one of Russia’s most senior defence officials,” Moscow’s court service said on April 25.

It said businessman Alexander Fomin is suspected of paying bribes to Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, who was detained on April 24, as well as Mr. Ivanov’s associate, Sergei Borodin. All of the men are to remain in custody until at least June 23.

“It is rare for such a high-ranking official to be accused of a crime in Russia. Mr. Ivanov, an ally of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, was jailed pending an investigation and trial on charges of bribery,” court officials said in a statement. He was in charge of military construction projects and was previously accused of living a lavish lifestyle in anti-corruption investigations conducted by the team of late Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It is unclear what sparked the decision to charge him with bribery.

Mr. Ivanov (48) was sanctioned by both the United States and European Union in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on April 24 that the construction projects that were overseen by Mr. Ivanov will continue.

Moscow’s court service said Alexander and Borodin contributed to Mr. Ivanov receiving a “particularly large bribe” — an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison. As part of the case against Alexander and the Deputy Minister, the courts service added that Alexander did not pay for goods, work and services related to repairing and reconstructing buildings.

Russian state news agency Tass reported on Wednesday that a Moscow businessman whose company is involved in construction gave testimony which incriminated the Deputy Defence Minister. Tass did not name the individual who gave the evidence, but public records and Russian newspapers say that Alexander Fomin owns half of the company, called Olimpsitistroy.

In 2021, Mr. Ivanov awarded Alexander and the co-owner of Olimpsitistroy a state award called For Merit to the Fatherland for building medical centers, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported.

According to a court statement on Wednesday, investigators told the judge that Mr. Ivanov conspired with third parties to receive a bribe in the form of unspecified property services “during contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defence.”

Mr. Ivanov’s lawyer, Murad Musayev, told the state news agency Tass on Wednesday that his client is accused of “taking a bribe in the form of free construction and repair work on supposedly his personal properties,” and in turn providing “assistance to companies that were contractors for the Defence Ministry.”

Another lawyer, Denis Baluyev, was quoted by state news agency RIA Novosti as saying that Mr. Ivanov maintains his innocence. Mr. Baluyev told RIA Novosti on Thursday that the authorities froze Mr. Ivanov’s bank accounts and seized his real estate.

According to the Defence Ministry’s website, Mr. Ivanov was appointed in 2016 by a Presidential decree. He oversaw property management, housing and medical support for the military, as well as construction projects.

RIA Novosti quoted Mr. Peskov as saying that Mr. Shoigu and Mr. Putin were informed of Mr. Ivanov’s arrest, which comes as Moscow’s war in Ukraine grinds through its third year.

Independent Russian news outlets reported on Wednesday that the bribery charges were intended to hide more serious charges of treason and avoid scandal, citing two unidentified sources close to the Federal Security Service, or FSB.

Mr. Peskov dismissed the suggestion and described the reports as speculation. “There are a lot of rumors. We need to rely on official information,” he told journalists. Mr. Musayev, Mr. Ivanov’s lawyer, also denied any other charges, telling RIA Novosti that Mr. Ivanov faced only bribery allegations.

Before his arrest, Mr. Ivanov was seen attending a meeting with Mr. Shoigu and other top military brass. The move against Mr. Ivanov came nearly a month after Mr. Putin called on the FSB to “keep up a systemic anti-corruption effort” and pay special attention to state defence procurement.

Russian media reported that Mr. Ivanov oversaw some of the construction in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city that was devastated by bombardment and occupied by Russian forces early in the war.

Zvezda, the official TV channel of the Russian military, reported in summer 2022 that the Ministry was building an entire residential block in Mariupol and showed Mr. Ivanov inspecting construction sites and newly erected buildings.

That same year, the team of Opposition leader Navalny alleged Mr. Ivanov and his family had been enjoying luxurious trips abroad, lavish parties and owned elite real estate. The activists also alleged that Mr. Ivanov’s wife, Svetlana, divorced him in 2022 to avoid sanctions and continued living a lavish lifestyle. Few high-level officials have been prosecuted in Russia.

In April 2023, former Deputy Culture Minister Olga Yarilova was arrested and charged with embezzling more than 200 million rubles ($2.2 million). Olga, who held her post from 2018 to 2022, is on trial and facing a possible seven-year jail term.

Former Economics Minister Alexei Ulyukayev received an eight-year prison sentence in 2017 for accepting a $2 million bribe from one of Mr. Putin’s top associates. The high-profile trial was widely seen as part of infighting between Kremlin clans. Ulyukayev, now 68, was granted early release from prison in May 2022.

A memorial service has taken place for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last week, his spokespeople said on August 29 in a terse statement on social media.
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A memorial service has taken place for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last week, his spokespeople said on August 29 in a terse statement on social media.

“Those who wish to bid their farewell” to the 62-year-old mercenary leader should go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, his hometown, the statement said.

Earlier media reports about the funeral mentioned other cemeteries in the city as likely sites for the burial, which has been shrouded in secrecy.

It wasn’t clear from the statement if Prigozhin has already been buried or if it was still to happen.

Earlier, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend a funeral for Prigozhin, who challenged the Russian leader’s authority in an armed rebellion in June. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov wouldn’t give any details about the burial because it was a private family matter.

The tight secrecy and confusion surrounding the funeral of Prigozhin and his top lieutenants reflected a dilemma faced by the Kremlin amid swirling speculation that the crash was likely a vendetta for his mutiny.

While it tried to avoid any pomp-filled ceremony for the man branded by Mr. Putin as a traitor for his June 23-24 rebellion, the Kremlin couldn’t afford to denigrate Prigozhin, who was given Russia’s highest award for leading Wagner forces in Ukraine and was idolized by many of the country’s hawks.

Putin’s comments on Prigozhin’s death reflected that careful stand. He noted last week that Wagner leaders “made a significant contribution” to the fighting in Ukraine and described Prigozhin as a ”talented businessman” and “a man of difficult fate” who had “made serious mistakes in life.”

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, noted that Prigozhin has become a legendary figure for his supporters who are increasingly critical of the authorities.

“Prigozhin’s funeral raises an issue of communication between the bureaucratic Russian government system that doesn’t have much political potential and the politically active patriotic segment of the Russian public,” Mr. Markov said.

The country’s top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, officially confirmed Prigozhin’s death on Sunday.

The committee didn’t say what might have caused Prigozhin’s business jet to plummet from the sky minutes after taking off from Moscow for St. Petersburg. Just before the crash, Prigozhin had returned from a trip to Africa, where he sought to expand Wagner Group’s activities.

Also on Tuesday, a funeral was held at St. Petersburg’s Northern Cemetery for Wagner’s logistics chief Valery Chekalov, who died in the Aug. 23 crash alongside Prigozin.

Prigozhin’s second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, a retired military intelligence officer who gave the mercenary group its name based on his own nom de guerre, was also among the 10 people killed in the crash.

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane to crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin’s foes who have been assassinated. The Kremlin rejected Western allegations the President was behind the crash as an “absolute lie.”

The crash came exactly two months after the brutal and profane mercenary boss launched a rebellion against the Russian military leadership. Prigozhin ordered his mercenaries to take over the military headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and then began a march on Moscow. They downed several military aircraft, killing more than a dozen pilots.

Mr. Putin denounced the revolt as “treason” and vowed to punish its perpetrators but hours later struck a deal that saw Prigozhin ending the mutiny in exchange for amnesty and permission for him and his troops to move to Belarus.

The fate of Wagner, which until recently played a prominent role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and was involved in a number of African and Middle Eastern countries, is uncertain.

Mr. Putin said Wagner fighters could sign a contract with the Russian military, move to Belarus or retire from service. Several thousand have deployed to Belarus, where they are in a camp southeast of the capital, Minsk.