Russia escalating use of chemical weapons in Ukraine: EU's top diplomat reveals number of attacks
Photo: EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (flickr.com)
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has used chemical weapons against Ukraine at least 9,000 times and is now increasing its use, Politico informs.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kaja Kallas cited reports from German and Dutch intelligence indicating that Russia has used chemical weapons at least 9,000 times since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She noted that the aggressor country is now increasing its use.
"As the intelligence services are saying this is intensifying, I think it’s (Russia’s use of chemical weapons - ed.) of great, great concern," she said.
The EU’s top diplomat emphasized that this shows Russia wants to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible to force Ukraine to surrender.
"And, you know, it’s really … unbearable," Kallas added.
Russia is using chemical weapons on the front line
Earlier, media reports stated that the EU Council had prepared a new sanctions regulation in which Russia is officially accused for the first time of using CS tear gas on the front lines in Ukraine as a method of warfare.
In the explanatory section of the document, EU officials cite reports by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), published at Ukraine’s request in November 2024 and February 2025.
In May, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia for its use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Additionally, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) has reported that Russian forces are systematically using chemicals on the battlefield. In particular, there has been a growing number of recorded incidents involving the enemy’s use of munitions containing poisonous gas in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Moreover, Russia is also using Shahed-type kamikaze drones equipped with toxic substances to strike targets in Ukraine. Russian forces do this to harm people.
Furthermore, the OPCW has published a report confirming the presence of a poisonous substance in samples collected in the combat zone in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
These reports examine cases of gas use near the villages of Mariivka and Illinka in the Dnipropetrovsk region in 2024.
