Russia uses chemical weapons on the battlefield — experts say

Russians are using banned chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine. The OPCW experts have concluded that Russia is using tear gas, a chemical agent that, while not fatal, temporarily irritates the eyes and respiratory system.

This was reported by Reuters on Monday, November 18.

What is known about the use of chemical weapons by Russians at the front

At Kyiv's request, OPCW experts examined digital files, interviewed witnesses, and tested three samples from the frontline trench. They found CS (2-chlorobenzylidene malonononitrile), or tear gas, in the grenade fragments and the soil next to it. According to the Chemical Weapons Convention, such substances cannot be used in hostilities.

According to the Ukrainian side, all these samples were collected after the incident on September 20 near the village of Hrushivka (Illinka until 2024 — Ed.) of the Marhanets community in the Nikopolskyi district of Dnipropetrovsk region.

The OPCW team is not authorized to determine which side is to blame for the violation, but the United States also claims that the Russian army is illegally using tear gas to clear trenches.

The results of the investigation are scheduled to be discussed next week in The Hague at a meeting of the 193 member states of the OPCW.

As a reminder, Oles Maliarevych, deputy commander of the Achilles battalion of the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Ivan Sirko, said that Russians are using various types of chemical weapons against the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front. In particular, it is ammonia, chlorine and phosphorus bombs.

Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in August of this year alone, the Russian army used chemical munitions against the Ukrainian Defense Forces 450 times. And in a year and a half, from February 15, 2023, to August 24 this year, the number of such cases reached more than four thousand.