The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Throughout the entire period of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, nearly 12,000 cases of the use of hazardous chemical substances have been documented. In 2025 alone, more than 6,500 such incidents were recorded.
This was reported by the Command of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
During 2025, Russian troops, alongside traditional means of firepower, regularly used special munitions filled with chemical irritant agents.
Substances used by the enemy
Most often, the adversary used gas grenades of the K-51 and RG-VO types, filled with CS and CN substances.
In peacetime, these agents are used in some countries by law enforcement agencies for crowd control and belong to the so-called riot control agents.
Legal assessment
Units of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine systematically document cases of the use of hazardous chemical substances. Collected samples are transferred for forensic examinations.
In accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the use of such substances as a method of warfare is prohibited.
Under combat conditions, the use of CS and CN is illegal and poses a threat to the life and health of servicemembers.
Impact on personnel
CS and CN substances cause severe irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and respiratory tract, tearing, coughing, suffocation, disorientation, and temporary loss of combat effectiveness.
In some cases, symptoms may partially overlap with the effects of other chemical irritants or mixtures of unidentified composition.
Statistics
- overall during the period of full-scale aggression — nearly 12,000 cases;
- during 2025 — 6,540 cases;
the highest number of attacks was recorded in April 2025 — 894 cases of the use of hazardous chemical substances.
