1 month ago
The Ukrainian infantryman, telephone motion "Ray", said he quickly pulled connected his state disguise aft a Russian drone flying supra his trench connected nan eastbound beforehand dropped a tear state grenade.
"It's for illustration capsicum spray, it makes your eyes tear up. It's not lethal, but it disturbs and knocks you out. It makes it very difficult to transportation retired your duties erstwhile you've inhaled it," he told Reuters of nan onslaught he said he knowledgeable successful January.
The Ukrainian subject says Russia has ramped up its forbidden usage of riot power agents connected nan beforehand to effort to clear trenches arsenic it originates to make bigger advances successful nan eastbound much than 2 years since its full-scale invasion.
THE UKRAINE WAR IS LOST, BUT HOLLYWOOD AND DC DON’T KNOW IT
Riot power agents specified arsenic tear state are banned connected nan battlefield by nan world Chemical Weapons Convention, which Russia and Ukraine are signatories to.
While civilians tin usually flight from tear state utilized to break up riots aliases protests successful cities, soldiers stuck successful trenches without state masks must either fly nether force occurrence aliases consequence suffocating from nan gas.
Colonel Serhii Pakhomov, acting caput of nan military's atomic, biologic and chemic defense forces, said Kyiv had recorded astir 900 uses of riot power agents by Russia successful nan past six months retired of complete 1,400 since nan Feb. 2022 invasion.
A Ukrainian serviceman of nan National Guard takes portion successful radiation, chemic and biologic hazard drills, amid Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine, adjacent Kharkiv, Ukraine connected February 29, 2024. (Reuters/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/File Photo)
Russia chiefly utilized K-51, VOH and RH-VO hand-grenades loaded pinch CS, CN and different gases, he told Reuters successful an interview. Ukraine's military antecedently alleged that Russian forces besides utilized chloropicrin, which was utilized arsenic poison state successful World War I.
Russia's embassy successful The Netherlands, wherever nan Organisation for nan Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is based, said connected X successful January that allegations astir Russia's usage of grenades pinch CN state usage unconfirmed data. Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a petition for remark for this article.
Moscow antecedently accused Ukrainian forces of utilizing chemic weapons, thing Kyiv denies. Reuters has not been capable to independently verify nan usage of banned chemic substances by either side.
UKRAINE CONDUCTS GAS MASK DRILLS
Five 100 Ukrainian troops person required aesculapian thief aft vulnerability to toxic substances connected nan battlefield and astatine slightest 1 worker died aft suffocating connected tear gas, Pakhomov said.
"In summation to demoralization, nan personification loses beingness capabilities – he can't see, he can't breathe, everything is irritated," he said. "Yes, it is temporary, but it is nan very infinitesimal nan force tin usage to return complete this position aliases another."
The Ukrainian subject is distributing state masks and conducting drills to hole soldiers to take sides their position during specified attacks. At 1 drill adjacent Kharkiv, instructors told Reuters that state masks thief to protect troops from almost each combat poisons but nan magnitude of vulnerability could effect their effectiveness.
Russian forces, which person occupied 18% of Ukrainian territory, are advancing slow but steadily successful nan east, aft months of deadly fighting.
Volodymyr, 37, a expert astatine a aesculapian stabilization constituent successful nan Donetsk region, said state attacks cases person picked up precocious arsenic he was seeing an mean of 2 soldiers a week.
They kick astir state attacks of varying characteristics - colorless, bluish aliases greenish - and pinch a beardown chemic smell.
"The symptoms, it looks for illustration irritation ... it's for illustration tear state aliases thing for illustration that," he said, incapable to place nan nonstop substance.
Natalia Khovanets, 53, a caput caregiver astatine a Ukrainian service aesculapian portion successful a forested portion of nan mostly-occupied region of Luhansk, told Reuters they had treated soldiers who had been deed pinch tear state grenades dropped by a Russian drone.
"(The symptoms we saw were) bitterness successful nan patients' mouths, dizziness... these are mild symptoms. That meant we could negociate treating them connected our own."
An charismatic pinch nan OPCW, which investigates alleged usage of chemicals arsenic weapons, told Reuters it had received nary petition for an investigation aliases method assistance related to nan alleged usage of banned chemicals successful nan war.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"However, nan usage of riot power agents arsenic weapons by Russian troops was wide debated," astatine nan organization's caller meetings, nan charismatic said, speaking connected information of anonymity owed to nan sensitivity of nan issue.
The task of documenting each lawsuit of alleged toxic chemicals usage falls to typical groups wrong nan Ukrainian subject who cod grounds and contaminated crushed samples for section labs earlier passing them to Ukraine's information services.
Pakhomov said that nan 1,400 recorded cases is apt a sizeable underestimate because dense artillery occurrence and fighting often prevents nan groups from visiting trenches, making archiving and accountability harder to achieve.
