Russian forces used chemical weapons on the battlefield 434 times in December 2024, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Jan. 18.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's radiation, chemical, and biological intelligence units have been monitoring and recording the use of hazardous chemicals in attacks. The military has recorded 5,389 cases since February 2023.
Russian forces used K-51 and RG-VO munitions, anti-riot weapons that are prohibited for use in warfare, the General Staff said in their report.
Russia has also used ammunition loaded with dangerous chemicals of "unspecified type."
The use of such weapons "grossly violates the rules of warfare," the General Staff said. The report noted that chemical weapons attacks have "become systemic" since February 2023.
Russia has been intensifying its use of chemical agents on the battlefield in Ukraine. A Kyiv Independent investigation from August 2024 showed that instances of gas attacks are rising, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on Nov. 18 that a riot control agent known as CS has been used in Ukraine.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been hospitalized with chemical poisoning, and three have died, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk said on Dec. 13.
Ukraine struck back at Russia's use of illegal chemical weapons on Dec. 17, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) assassinated Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops.
The previous day, Ukrainain prosecutors charged Kirillov in absentia for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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