The Public Relations Service of the Support Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of using chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict, with a staggering total of 815 recorded attacks since the commencement of the large-scale war.

The report highlights the use of ammunition equipped with poisonous chemical substances, particularly grenades such as K-51, RGR, and RG-Vo, which contain the dangerous chemical CS. To gather evidence, Ukrainian radiation, chemical and bacteriological intelligence units have been conducting sampling of soil, vegetation, and ammunition fragments, which are then sent for analysis. Documented cases of the use of dangerous chemicals are being submitted to investigative bodies as part of open criminal proceedings.

At a press briefing last week, Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson of the United Press Center of the Defense Forces of the Tavria Region, reported that Russia continues to violate the customs of warfare by employing ammunition containing poisonous substances. Colonel Shtupun said that five such incidents occurred the previous day, likely involving K-51 grenades with chlorpicrin. Each case is being investigated individually, with appropriate analyses being conducted and the results being submitted to international institutions. Ukrainian soldiers have been protecting themselves from chlorpicrin using gas masks.

In response to these serious allegations, the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands released a statement vehemently denying the use of chemical weapons by Russia. They emphasized that all accusations based on the deployment of chloroacetophenone grenades, prohibited by the Geneva Convention, rely on unconfirmed data. The embassy further asserted that international investigations have confirmed the absence of chemical weapons in the Russian army’s stockpiles.

The use of chemical and biological weapons in war is strictly prohibited by international agreements. The 1925 Geneva Protocol bans chemical and biological weapons in warfare. Further, Russia has been a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997, which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical arms.