Russia is increasingly using an unidentified gas against Ukrainian troops, Kyiv Independent reports.
According to a Ukrainian colonel, Ukraine is unable to identify most of the gas used by the Russians on the battlefield.
The gas that the Russians throw into grenades in the Ukrainian trenches causes symptoms similar to tear gas. Russia is said to be using the grenades primarily in the Kursk region.
According to the report, 2,100 Ukrainian soldiers were injured in gas attacks. The gas grenades are intended to push the Ukrainian soldiers out of the trenches and into the open field, where they are defenseless against the Russians.
Ukraine does not have the necessary gas detectors. Ukraine has only a few prototypes that cost six figures each.
Russian troops have used chemical agents banned in hostilities as a psychological operation to sow panic among Ukrainian forces. The Russians drop the grenades in question over the trenches with drones.
This is dangerous both for our troops and for Ukraine as a whole, which will not be able to prove anything at the international level, the Ukrainian army points out.
Ukraine's concerns about new types of gas found on the battlefield come as Russian troops continue to advance through war hotspots in eastern Ukraine, increasingly capturing villages and towns. Many of Ukraine's soldiers are exhausted after fighting for nearly three years with little break.
Commonly cited symptoms include nausea, vomiting, eye and skin irritation, excessive coughing, chest tightness, and choking.
Russian forces are using chemical weapons on an industrial scale, experts say, estimating that 30% of Ukrainian frontline troops have suffered chemical attacks.