Russian troops are carrying out a systematic campaign of illegal chemical attacks against Ukrainian soldiers, according to a Telegraph investigation.
The Telegraph spoke to a number of Ukrainian soldiers deployed in positions across the front line who detailed how their positions have been coming under near daily attacks from small drones, mainly dropping tear gas but also other chemicals.
The use of such gas, which is known as CS and commonly used by riot police, is banned during wartime under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Ihor, the commander of a Ukrainian reconnaissance team who is deployed near the front line city of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk Oblast, told The Telegraph: “Nearly every position in our area of the front was getting one or two gas grenades dropped on them a day.”
He said that because of how embedded many Ukrainian troops are now it was difficult for the Russians to attack with conventional artillery or drones firing missiles, adding: “The only way for them to successfully attack us was with gas.”
Even when not lethal or immediately incapacitating, these gas attacks usually cause panic. “Their first instinct is to get out,” Ihor said. They can then be attacked with more conventional weapons.
jameskchou on April 6th, 2024 at 14:50 UTC »
Mike Johnson still Happy he's withholding funding
Style75 on April 6th, 2024 at 13:25 UTC »
Terrorists doing terrorist things. Russia is a terrorist state.
TheTelegraph on April 6th, 2024 at 12:03 UTC »
From The Telegraph:
Russian troops are carrying out a systematic campaign of illegal chemical attacks against Ukrainian soldiersRussian troops are carrying out a systematic campaign of illegal chemical attacks against Ukrainian soldiers, according to a Telegraph investigation.
The Telegraph spoke to a number of Ukrainian soldiers deployed in positions across the front line who detailed how their positions have been coming under near daily attacks from small drones dropping mainly tear gas but also other chemicals.
The use of such gas, known as CS and commonly used by riot police, is banned during wartime under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Ihor, the commander of a Ukrainian reconnaissance team who is deployed near the front line city of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, told The Telegraph.“Nearly every position in our area of the front was getting one or two gas grenades dropped on them a day.”
He said because of how embedded many Ukrainian troops are now, it was difficult for the Russians to attack with conventional artillery or drones firing missiles.
“The only way for them to successfully attack us was with gas,” he said.
Even when not lethal or immediately incapacitating, these gas attacks usually cause panic.
“Their first instinct is to get out,” Ihor said. They can then be attacked with more conventional weapons.
‘Systematic’ weapon attacksTwo other Ukrainian soldiers, deployed on opposite ends of the front line, spoke of similar experiences.
Mikhail, the commander of an infantry unit currently deployed in Robotnye in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where a Russian offensive is currently underway, said: “Gas masks saved more than one of our lives.”
He said his soldiers are now required to carry their masks with them at all times.
Slava, a senior lieutenant whose unit is deployed near Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, said some Ukrainian units in his area were coming under “almost daily” gas attacks.
One of these CS gas grenades was provided to The Telegraph for verification by Rebekah Maciorowski, an American combat medic and a qualified nurse serving in the Ukrainian army.
She has been routinely called to provide medical aid to Ukrainian soldiers in the three brigades she works with in Donetsk Oblast after chemical weapon attacks, which she described as “systematic”.
The grenade was originally retrieved by soldiers in the 53rd Mechanised Brigade, one of the brigades Maciorowski works with.
“My guys retrieved it whilst under fire because nobody believed they were being attacked with chemical weapons,” she said.
A K-51 tear gas grenade was recovered by Ukrainian troops and verified by a chemical weapons expert
Marc-Michael Blum, a chemical weapons expert and ex-head of the OPCW laboratory, confirmed the recovered munition was a K-51 gas grenade, which are typically filled with tear gas.
Other types of chemical gas have also been reported, although could not be independently verified by The Telegraph.