Russian forces have deployed Shahed-type "kamikaze" drones carrying toxic substances to attack Ukraine, the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council said on April 16.
Two laboratories of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that Russian munitions contained riot control agent known as CS.
These included K-51 and RG-VO munitions, anti-riot weapons that are prohibited for use in warfare, and ammunition loaded with chemicals of "unspecified type."
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, was reportedly killed in an explosion at a residence in Moscow the morning of Dec. 17. The previous day, Ukraine's SBU sentenced Kirillov in absentia for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.
According to the SBU's investigation, chemical weapons have been used in more than 4,800 cases since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 2,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been hospitalized with chemical poisoning, and three have died, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk said during a Dec. 13 press briefing.
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, as evidence mounts that Russia has scaled up its attacks using chemical weapons in recent months.
The Russian army uses munitions such as K-51 and RG-VO, which are loaded with hazardous chemicals that are used for counter-riot operations and are prohibited as weapons of war, the General Staff's report read.
Russia is increasingly deploying unidentified gas in its latest chemical warfare tactic against Ukrainian troops, who are losing ground across the hotspots of the eastern front line. Ukraine is currently unable to identify the majority of the gas used on the battlefield, compared to previous months when it could diagnose
Spanish police seized a total of 13 tons of prohibited chemicals, including "possible" chemical weapon precursors, bound for Russia on Oct. 15, the national police announced.
The United Kingdom issued sanctions against Russian units involved in the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, the country's Foreign Office said on Oct. 8.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has recorded over 4,000 cases of Russian chemical agents used on Ukraine's front line, including over 3,100 reported cases since December 2023, marking a significant uptick in the weapons' use, Ukraine's Support Forces reported.
DONETSK OBLAST – Gasping for air from a trench in eastern Ukraine, an infantryman was ready for the worst when a suffocating white smoke spread into his position. A Russian drone had just dropped a gas grenade into the trench, an internationally banned practice in warfare used to suffocate Ukrainian soldiers
Key developments on June 24: * Ukraine reports increase in Russian chemical weapons attacks on battlefield * Zelensky dismisses Lieutenant General accused by soldiers of heavy losses * Russian saboteurs likely behind arson attack on German factory, security officials tell WSJ * EU Council announces 14th round of sanctions against Russia * At least 5
Ukraine recorded 715 cases of Russian chemical weapons use on the battlefield in May, 271 more than in the previous month, the Ukrainian military's Support Forces said on June 24.
Hundreds of cases of Russia using suffocating and tear gas grenades usually dropped from drones have been recorded since the start of the full-scale invasion, with the number of incidents increasing significantly in 2024.
Chloropicrin is often used as an herbicide. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), exposure to its vapors can cause severe irritation to the skin, eyes, and, if inhaled, internal organs.
Russian forces are deploying chemical weapons in an attempt to capture the village of Ocheretyne in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia Group of Forces, said on April 23.
Key developments on April 18: * Ukraine destroys missile launchers, radar stations at Russian military airfield in Crimea, says Military intelligence * Reuters: Ukraine says Russia's use of illegal tear gas on battlefield is increasing * Zelensky: Ukraine to produce 10 Bohdana howitzers this month * German delegation promises new IRIS-T delivery shortly * Russian
Ukrainian military officials have previously said that Russia is deploying chemical weapons on the battlefield in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The usage of riot control gas in war is also banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia is a signatory of.
Key developments on April 5: * Ukraine strikes airfields in Russia, destroying or damaging 19 warplanes, sources say * Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia kill 4, injure over 20 * Ukraine's military denies Russian troops reached Chasiv Yar's suburb * Lithuania to purchase 3,000 drones for Ukraine * Military: Russian use of prohibited chemical weapons
Ukrainian forces recorded 371 cases of usage of munition containing prohibited chemicals over the past month, which is 90 cases more than during the previous one.
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the blog “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on March 22, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. Aahed Bakkora will never forget the night that birds began falling out of the
Over the past week, Russian forces have dropped grenades with suffocating and tear gas from drones about 50 times, and 15 such drops of ammunition have been recorded over the past day alone, he said.
Ukraine's Azov regiment said on April 11 that Russia had used a poisonous substance against Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, a besieged port on the Sea of Azov. Azov leader Andriy Biletsky said that three people have clear signs of chemical poisoning. He added that there are no "disastrous consequences" for
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