According to Western intelligence agencies, Russia is stepping up its use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. "The use of tear gas and chloropicrin by Russian troops has become standard practice and is widespread", the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and two Dutch intelligence services - the military intelligence MIVD and the intelligence and security service AIVD - said in a joint report.
Chloropicrin, also known as trichloronitromethane, is a chemical warfare agent from the group of lung poisoning agents. It was used in World War I under the name "Grünkreuz-1" ("Green Cross-1"), as shells containing the substance were marked with a green cross.
The three intelligence agencies report that highly concentrated chloropicrin can be deadly in confined spaces and its use is a serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which explicitly prohibits its use. The use of tear gas also violates the Convention.
Russia invests in its chemical weapons program
According to observations by the BND, MIVD and AIVD, the Russian authorities and their radiation, chemical and biological protection forces are actively supporting and encouraging the use of this banned substance. Russia has also invested heavily in its chemical weapons program, expanding research and recruiting new scientists.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Russia has already used chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops more than 9,000 times during the war in Ukraine, and at least three deaths have been directly linked to exposure to chemical weapons.
Russia's use of chemical weapons causes many more indirect casualties, as it forces Ukrainian soldiers out of cover, where they are then fired upon with conventional ammunition and killed.
Violation of the Geneva Conventions
The Ukrainian army's general staff reported that at a briefing for 35 military attaches in Kiev in late May, it was noted that the Russian army had not yet used deadly chemical weapons, but at the same time it was emphasized that although the substances used by Russia were formally are not considered chemical weapons, their use in hostilities still violates the Geneva Conventions.
In June, Ukraine informed the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that between February 2023 and June 2025, approximately 9,700 cases of Russian troops using munitions containing dangerous chemical substances as a means of warfare were documented.
Author: Sergey Romashenko