Russia’s envoy to the OPCW, Vladimir Tarabrin, said people in Britain and Canada may have died after buying a chemical online. He alleged that the substance had been brought from Ukraine disguised as a food preservative.
Speaking at the 113th session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Tarabrin said relatives of the dead were seeking an investigation and justice. He did not identify the deceased, citing respect for their families.
The Russian diplomat said the people affected had ordered the substance online. He called for the cases to be discussed at the OPCW if they fall within the organisation’s mandate, alongside other reported poisonings.
The information was attributed to Tarabrin. The report provided no name for the substance, details of investigations in Britain or Canada, or independent confirmation of its origin. The alleged link between the deaths and supplies from Ukraine therefore remains a claim by the Russian envoy.