The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD warn that Russia is increasingly using chemical weapons in Ukraine. These weapons are also becoming more potent: in addition to poison gas, Russia is also using the stronger substance chloropicrin.
By using poison gas and chloropicrin, Russia is violating the Chemical Weapons Convention. It was already known that Russia was using poison gas on the front lines with Ukraine. However, the Dutch security services, together with the German intelligence service BND, now conclude that Russia is also systematically using the stronger chloropicrin.
“This is an even more serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of this suffocating substance under all circumstances,” the Dutch intelligence services report. High concentrations of chloropicrin are deadly in a confined space.
Russia uses the chemical weapons to force Ukrainian soldiers out of their shelters. Russian soldiers then attack with “conventional ammunition,” such as mortars and gunfire.
According to the intelligence services, Russia has used chemical weapons in more than 9,000 attacks since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At least three soldiers have died as a result of contact with chemical weapons.