Dutch and German agencies report Russia's increased use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine

Published on 04/07/2025 - 17:58 GMT+2

Russia is expanding its usage of prohibited chemic weapons successful Ukraine, including nan World War I-era poison state chloropicrin, Dutch and German intelligence agencies said connected Friday.

Dutch subject intelligence and information service, together pinch nan German intelligence service, recovered that nan usage of prohibited chemic weapons by the Russian subject had go "standardised and commonplace" successful Ukraine.

According to nan findings, nan Russian subject uses chloropicrin and riot power supplier CS against sheltering Ukrainian soldiers, who are past forced retired into nan unfastened and shot.

Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans called for much sanctions against Moscow and continued subject support for Kyiv.

Brekelmans, who stayed connected successful a caretaker domiciled after the Dutch conjugation authorities collapsed past month, said that he doesn't want to spot nan usage of chemic weapons go normalised.

Lowering nan period for usage "is not only vulnerable for Ukraine, but besides for nan remainder of Europe and nan world," he said successful a statement.

Russia is simply a signatory to nan Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans nan usage of chloropicrin and CS arsenic weapons.

The convention's watchdog, nan Organisation for nan Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), has recovered respective incidents successful Ukraine involving CS, but nan group hasn't conducted a afloat investigation, which must beryllium requested by nan personnel states.

The executive committee for nan OPCW is holding a gathering adjacent week, wherever it's expected to talk Russia's warfare successful Ukraine.

Russian authorities person not instantly commented connected nan findings, but they person successful nan past denied utilizing chemic weapons.

According to Ukraine, Russia has carried retired 9,000 chemic weapons attacks successful nan state since nan commencement of its full-scale penetration successful 2022.

In 2024, nan US State Department said that it had recorded nan usage of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.