Vladimir Putin is evidently using not only rigorous but also illegal means in his military warfare. According to underground reports, he is also said to be using chemical weapons.
Kyiv/Moscow – Since the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine in February 2022, the two direct warring parties have been repeatedly thrown back to the basic possibilities of their military warfare. While Vladimir Putin is fighting with high material and personnel losses, Volodymyr Zelensky has always been dependent on international aid to defend himself against Russia. Essentially, their coordination determines which weapons are made available to Ukraine – but also which Russian targets their armed forces attack with foreign weapons.
The US anti-tank system “Javelin” has proven to be an extremely effective weapon against Putin's troops. But the Ukrainian armed forces also successfully tested their first self-produced ballistic missiles last week (27 August). Putin, on the other hand, has more freedom in his military warfare, which he uses to launch sometimes rigorous attacks. Now the Ukrainian side is accusing him of having used chemical weapons on a large scale in the war so far on the front lines.
Putin has been using illegal chemical weapons against Ukraine since the beginning of the year
In a total of more than 4,000 cases, Putin's troops are said to have used chemical warfare agents at the front, according to a survey of Russian soldiers and officers by the Ukrainian media Kyiv Independent They confirmed that this tactic is effective and allows the Kremlin to occasionally take contemporary positions without completely destroying them.
According to Ukrainian officers and soldiers, one thing is significant: the use of chemical weapons on the front lines has increased significantly since December 2023. In these nine months alone, the armed forces have reported over 3,100 cases of chemical weapons attacks by Russia on the front lines, by far the largest share of the alleged total.
This marked a significant increase compared to the 600 previously initiated Russian chemical weapons attacks documented from Ukraine by the beginning of 2024. It is likely that Putin has once again made the use of illegal chemical weapons a part of his military warfare since January.
Russia used the illegal chemical warfare agent chloropicrin on the front lines
Ukrainian soldiers reported up to six gas attacks per day. When Russia uses illegal chemical weapons against Ukraine, it is usually about two to three times per hour. According to Ukrainian statistics, the number of reported cases peaked in May 2024 with 715 Russian chemical weapons attacks. Over the summer months, however, the number slowly declined. No data is yet available for August, but recently there have been suspicions about the use of Russian chemical weapons in the contested border region of Kursk.
In the spring, the US State Department accused the Kremlin of Russian forces using the chemical warfare agent chloropicrin in Ukraine. The announcement was part of a larger statement about the introduction of new US sanctions against more than 280 Russian individuals and entities.
“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is likely driven by the desire of Russian forces to dislodge American forces from fortified positions and to achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” the US State Department said at the time. Washington claimed that Moscow had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention by using counterinsurgency agents as a method of warfare.
Russia has already confirmed that it used banned aerosol grenades against Ukraine
Chloropicrin is actually used as a herbicide. According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), contact with its vapors can cause severe skin and eye irritation. If chloropicrin If inhaled, it can also damage internal organs.
Russian marine infantry units have already confirmed that they used illegal K-51 aerosol grenades filled with tear gas CS (2-chlorobenzalmalonitrile). Apart from tear gas, other purposes include bringing uncontrolled and potentially dangerous crowds back under control. Such substances, which belong to the group of “riot control agents”, are prohibited in modern warfare under the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
At the beginning of May (7 May), the Office for the Control of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) stated that there was insufficient evidence of Russian use of chemical weapons in the war zone in Ukraine, including the Daily News reported at the time. Russia and Ukraine had previously accused each other of using banned chemical warfare agents in the war against each other. However, these accusations were “inadequately substantiated,” it was said at the time. Both Russia and Ukraine have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. They have thereby committed themselves to destroying all stocks of chemical warfare agents and not to consider them for military warfare. (fh)
