Russia claims it has destoyed last remaining chemical weapons
Russia has completed the destruction of its Cold War-era chemical weapons stockpiles, winning praise from an international watchdog.
Russian officials reported the destruction of the country's last remaining artillery projectiles filled with a toxic agent.
The report was handed to President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
The work took place at the Kizner facility in the Urals, one of five facilities built in Russia to destroy chemical weapons.
Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, commended Russia for achieving a "major milestone" with the destruction of its chemical arsenals.
The OPCW oversees global efforts to eliminate chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention that took effect in 1997.
It says over 96% of the stockpiles declared by the conventions 192 participants have been destroyed.
