The UK government has added two individuals and one entity to its sanctions list:
- Major General Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev, the Head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops;
- Major General Andrei Marchenko, Deputy Head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops.;
- JSC NPC Research Institute of Applied Chemistry (NIIPKH)
Rtishchev and Marchenko have been linked to the Radiological Chemical Biological Defence troops, which have been involved in transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
The UK Government states that NIIPKh provided riot control agent grenades to Russian military which were used as a method of warfare against Ukrainians in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. NIIPHK displays on its website only civilian products such as sparklers and firecrackers.
Six months ago, Aleksey Rtishchev held a briefing at the Russian Ministry of Defense, where he accused the Pentagon of involvement in the creation of biological laboratories in African countries. Rtishcev said that these laboratories could enhance US military potential. Representatives from the Russian Ministry of Defense had made such statements before.
