Identifying and Mitigating Russian Chemical and Biological Threat (RCBT)

CTR’s Countering Russian Chemical and Biological Threats program supports efforts by the U.S. and its allies to help identify and inhibit Russian WMD proliferation programs. The world has witnessed high-profile Russian assassination attempts utilizing chemical weapons - including the 2018 attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K., and the 2020 attempt against Aleksey Navalny in Russia. Consequently, the United States has issued a range of sanctions and designations in response to Russia’s proliferation and dissemination activities. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Commerce has publicly identified at least 19 Russian and Russian-linked entities that are believed to be associated with Russian chemical and biological weapons programs. Additionally, the U.S. Departments of Treasury and State have also designated Russian-linked entities associated with Russian chemical weapons development. To advance its chemical and biological weapons (CBW) proliferation efforts, the Russian Federation has developed intentionally complex procurement and beneficial ownership networks.