Russia accuses Ukraine of using Western chemical weapons

Russian Defence Ministry has accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) of employing Western chemical weapons disguised as smoke shells in the city of Sudzha in August 2024.

This claim was made by Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces' Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Kirillov stated that there were confirmed instances of the Ukrainian regime secretly using chemical weapons under the guise of smoke projectiles.

He reported that on August 11, 2024, Ukrainian armed groups in Sudzha, located in Russia's Kursk region, deployed DM-105 cluster munitions of 155 mm calibre, resulting in injuries to over 20 individuals.

An analysis of samples taken at an accredited Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) laboratory revealed that victims suffered from inhalation of a large quantity of Aerosol containing Chlorine and Asphyxiating agents. He emphasized that the metal chloride mixture was merely a masking agent.

Kirillov also noted that a total of 3,800 such munitions were supplied to Ukraine in September 2023 as part of a military aid package.

Furthermore, he highlighted that research conducted at the US military laboratory at Fort Detrick was an indication of the combustion products of the metal chloride mixture from such munitions have a strong irritating effect on the upper respiratory tract and can lead to severe poisoning. He reminded attendees that  ”this toxicity was a basis for banning the production and use of such shells in the United States”.

By Khagan Isayev