Read NV on Google
REUTERS/Ів Герман
The European Union imposed sanctions on six Russian citizens
it suspects of being involved in the development of chemical weapons, including
the toxin epibatidine,
which was detected in Alexei Navalny’s body after his death in a Russian penal
colony, the European Council said
in a statement on July 3.
“The individuals listed today are scientists and researchers within the military sphere,” the message said.
“Some of them have worked for the Signal Scientific Centre (also known as SC Signal), where they researched and published articles on the synthesis of epibatidine, thereby being involved in its development as a chemical weapon.”
Named in the statement were Igor Babkin, head of the Signal laboratory; Irina Derevyagina, a chemical research analyst at the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology. The institute, the council said, is a “central part of the Russian Chemical Weapons program.”
The EU noted that, so far, sanctions for the use and proliferation of chemical weapons apply to 31 individuals and six organizations. The new measures freeze the assets of the listed individuals in the EU, prohibit providing them with financial or economic resources, and ban their entry into EU countries.
The statement reiterated the EU’s commitment to countering
the spread and use of chemical weapons and to upholding the Chemical Weapons
Convention.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
