Ukrainian forces destroy Russian Grad MLRS loaded with chemical weapons (video)
Photo: Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed Russian Grad rocket launcher loaded with chemical weapons (Russian media)
Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region have destroyed a Russian Grad multiple launch rocket system loaded with chemical munitions, according to the K-2 military unit.
"Thanks to the efforts of drone operators from three different Defense Forces units, a Russian Grad system preparing for a salvo was successfully hit. In intercepted communications, Russian soldiers urged each other to hide and put on gas masks, saying the destroyed Grad was loaded with chemicals," the statement said.
The unit also warned that Russian forces may attempt to use chemical weapons again in the future, despite Russia being a signatory to the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical and Biological Weapons. According to them, Russia still holds large stockpiles of chemical weapons in storage.
Russia uses chemical weapons
Earlier, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) reported that Russian forces have been systematically using chemical agents on the battlefield. In particular, there has been a growing number of cases involving the use of toxic gas munitions by Russian troops in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Additionally, Russia has been using Shahed-type kamikaze drones equipped with poisonous substances to target Ukrainian people.
Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation also noted that Russian forces have increasingly used toxic payloads in frontline areas. Several such incidents were documented in the Kupiansk direction.
Back in December of last year, reports confirmed that Russian forces used chemical substances in the war against Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers have reportedly suffered from chemical exposure.
At the time, HUR also warned of possible Russian chemical weapon use in temporarily occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Further reports also pointed to chemical weapon usage by Russian troops near Bakhmut.
Moreover, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) released a report confirming the presence of toxic substances in samples collected from combat zones in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
