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Ukrainian prosecutors charged Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, in absentia with the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Dec. 16.
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 2022, over 2,000 Ukrainian service members have been hospitalized with chemical poisoning, and three have died, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk said earlier this week.
"Russian forces mostly use ammunition with toxic substances by dropping them from FPV (first-person-view) drones on Ukrainian positions. When chemical grenades are detonated, their poisonous compounds affect human mucous membranes, especially the eyes and respiratory tract," the SBU’s statement said.
When detonated, the irritating gases force Ukrainian soldiers finding cover in the trenches to leave and expose themselves to Russian gunfire, the statement noted.
Ukraine handed over soil samples that prove the use of banned materials to independent laboratories of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for examination and were confirmed to breach international humanitarian law.
Russia's use of gas attacks is rising, a Kyiv Independent investigation from August showed. Ukrainian soldiers and officers interviewed by the Kyiv Independent acknowledged that the tactic is effective, allowing Moscow to capture positions occasionally without destroying them.
The U.K. issued sanctions against Kirillov and his unit over the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine on Oct. 8.
Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department confirmed that Russian forces had used the chemical agent chloropicrin in Ukraine. The announcement was part of a larger statement about introducing new U.S. sanctions against more than 280 individuals and entities.
Asami Terajima
