The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) has made a voluntary contribution of £400,000 to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to support its activities related to Ukraine.
The funding will be used to facilitate the provision of equipment, training, expertise, logistical support and further technical assistance to enhance Ukraine's resilience against chemical weapons threats.
The voluntary contribution was formalised on 25 June 2025 in a signing ceremony held between the Director of Defence and International Security at UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Mr Stephen Lillie, and the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, at the OPCW's Centre for Chemistry and Technology.
Director-General Arias briefed Mr Lillie on the findings of the report on the OPCW's third Technical Assistance Visit to Ukraine following an incident of alleged use of toxic chemicals as a weapon in the Dnipropetrovsk region in February 2025. The report confirmed the presence of the toxic chemical 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile, known as CS, in seven samples collected by Ukraine in relation to the incident. CS is a riot control agent and its use as a method of warfare is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Mr Lillie stated: "The UK's latest contribution to the OPCW Assistance to Ukraine Trust Fund comes at an important moment, when three independent OPCW reports have confirmed the use of CS gas on the battlefield in Ukraine. This funding will provide vital support to Ukraine as it responds to the threat of chemical weapons. It demonstrates the UK's commitment to supporting the vital work of the OPCW, and to Ukraine."
Director-General Arias stated: "I wish to express my gratitude to the UK for its generous voluntary contribution to support our ongoing work in Ukraine. Such contributions are vital - they enable the OPCW to ensure that States Parties remain fully prepared to detect, respond to and mitigate chemical threats. It is only through collective efforts that we can uphold the principles of the Convention and protect communities from the dangers of chemical weapons."
Background
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force in 1997. The UK is a member of the OPCW Executive Council, which is the OPCW's executive organ responsible for promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as supervising the activities of the Organisation's Technical Secretariat.
Thus far, the UK has contributed £950,000 to the Ukraine Assistance project under the OPCW Trust Fund for the Implementation of Article X.
Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) provides for assistance and protection to a State Party if it is attacked or threatened by chemical weapons. Through the relevant Trust Fund, the OPCW Technical Secretariat has provided support to Ukraine, upon its request, to strengthen its preparedness and response capabilities against chemical weapons threats. These efforts included deployment of the Technical Assistance Visits, provision of protective, detection, and identification equipment and training Ukrainian first responders and experts.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 - totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents - have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW's strict verification regime.
