- Russian drones are increasingly dropping chemical grenades in Ukraine, says Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
- Ukraine reported 371 cases in March alone.
- These chemical bombings violate the United Nations’ Chemical Weapons Convention, Ukraine cites.
Ukraine’s military is tracking how often Russian drones drop grenades containing dangerous chemical agents. It’s happening a lot and more frequently, the military says.
The number of chemical weapons being dropped from unmanned aerial vehicles is becoming a systemic issue, the Command of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook on Friday.
Ukraine has recorded 1,412 cases in which harmful chemical substances were discovered in ammunition from February 2023 to March 2024. In March, there were there were 371 cases alone, 90 more than during the previous period.
Russia has been using K-51 and RG-VO grenades, according to Ukraine. The armed forces also said these chemical bombings violate several laws of warfare, such as the United Nations’ 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention.
The K-51s are CS gas riot control grenades, and the RG-VO grenades are fragmentation weapons that have reportedly carried a CN chemical agent.
In February 2023, Russia accused Ukraine of using chemical weapons on the front lines, saying that its soldiers have been experiencing health issues as a result. Russia didn’t provide evidence or name the specific chemicals.
Ukraine denied the allegations against it saying that it has been following the laws of warfare.
Ukraine and Russia have hurled chemical warfare accusations at one another over the course of the war, with some more credible than others. In December 2023, a Russian brigade admitted to dropping a chemical substance similar to tear gas, which is banned in war, on Ukraine’s soldiers.
Ukrainian soldiers have said they’ve experienced suffocation when they’ve come in contact with the gas and that they’ve witnessed the chemical causing fires in trenches.
The Russian military has been accused of numerous war crimes since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including torture, unlawful use of explosive weapons, torture, indiscriminate attacks and more.
