The Russian Ministry of Defense has recorded cases of the use of American chemical munitions by the Ukrainian armed forces in the zone of a special military operation.

“On December 28, 2023, in the Krasnolimansky tactical direction, a copter-type UAV dropped American-made gas grenades filled with the CS substance on the positions of Russian troops. This substance is irritating to the eyes and upper respiratory tract, and in high concentrations can cause skin burns, respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest. The compound belongs to the class of riot control chemicals,” Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense forces of the Russian Armed Forces, said during a briefing.

According to him, this is not an isolated case of Ukraine using non-lethal chemical weapons.

Thus, on April 7 and 21, 2023, hand grenades with irritant chemicals, labeled “Teren-6,” were dropped from Ukrainian UAVs onto the positions of Russian troops.

On June 15, August 3 and 11, 2023, in the area of ​​the village of Rabotino (Zaporozhye region), a drone with a plastic container containing a mixture of chloroacetophenone and chloropicrin was used against Russian military personnel.

On January 31, 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used an unknown toxic chemical, the effect of which led to burns of the upper respiratory tract, nausea and vomiting. During the research, the presence of a toxic substance “anthraquinone” was established, which has a pronounced toxic effect and causes blindness, impaired liver and kidney function.

“Thus, Ukraine, with the complicity of Western countries, does not limit itself to the use of non-lethal chemicals, actively using listed chemicals,” Kirillov emphasized.

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The use of toxic substances by the APU

Also, the head of the RKhBZ troops gave examples when the Ukrainian Armed Forces used toxic substances against units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

So, on August 19, 2022, a toxic chemical was used, which is an analogue of the chemical warfare agent Bi-Zet. Moreover, on January 28, 2024, the toxic substance was found in bottles with the inscription “Biosporin” in Ukrainian in a cache on the territory of Melitopol.

On February 8 and 16, 2023, cases of using hydrocyanic acid using drones were recorded.

In addition, Igor Kirillov said that the heads of Russian regions almost died from toxic compounds used by the troops of the Kyiv regime.

On August 9, 2022, the head of the administration of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, was hospitalized with signs of poisoning, and on December 5, 2023, the head of the administration of the Lugansk People's Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, received severe poisoning with phenolic compounds.

“There are other cases of poisoning of high-ranking officials, investigations into which are ongoing,” added the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian Armed Forces.

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New tactics of the Kyiv regime

The authorities of the Kyiv regime intend to use chemicals to complicate the offensive of the Russian Armed Forces in the Northern Military District zone. This was stated by a representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“According to available information, the Kyiv regime, with the assistance of Western curators, is developing a new combat tactics using a “special chemical belt.” It involves blowing up containers with hydrocyanic acid and ammonia during the advance of Russian troops. From September to October 2023, these chemicals were delivered to the areas of the cities of Kramatorsk and Kupyansk, which are planned to be placed along highways and at major transport junctions,” said Igor Kirillov.

According to him, in Kiev they believe that such a strategy will “significantly complicate the activity of offensive operations” of the Russian Armed Forces and will provide Kyiv with additional time to prepare defensive lines in the Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Sumy regions.

He also emphasized that plans for the large-scale use of toxic substances are evidenced by Ukraine’s requests for the supply of antidotes, gas masks and other personal protective equipment.

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USA

The United States of America still retains highly toxic reaction masses remaining after the destruction of toxic substances at the Blue Grass (Kentucky) and Pueblo (Colorado) sites, despite the effect of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the RF Armed Forces pointed this out during the briefing.

However, until 2018, US annual declarations indicated 460 metric tons of unidentified chemical agents, which is about 2% of the total stockpile. According to the defense department, we are talking about compounds belonging to the class of amidide fluorophosphates, better known to the American public under the name Novichok.

Along with this, Igor Kirillov indicated that Washington retains significant interest in the use of chemical riot control agents as a tool for warfare.

“If previously the Americans talked about using such weapons only in response to the enemy’s chemical aggression, an important aspect of the new rules is the ability to use toxic chemicals unilaterally,” he said.

The Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces also said that all documents confirming the facts of violations of the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention by the United States and Ukraine have been transferred to the Investigative Committee for making a procedural decision.

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation