Radio Liberty: EU to accuse Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine
Grenade RG-Vo (Photo: wikipedia)

The Council of the European Union has prepared a new sanctions regulation that for the first time officially accuses Russia of using CS tear gas on the frontline in Ukraine as a method of warfare, Radio Liberty reports .

The new sanctions were announced from the explanatory part of the EU Council document, which was reviewed by the Sistema investigative project, created by Radio Liberty and the Nastoyaschee Vremya TV channel.

The European Union's sanctions list will include the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the 27th and 33rd scientific centers related to the development and use of chemical agents.

In justifying the sanctions, the EU refers to reports by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which were published at the request of the Ukrainian side in November 2024 and February 2025.

These reports examine cases of gas use near the villages of Maryivka and Ilyinka in the Dnipropetrovsk region in 2024. Experts provide evidence of the presence of traces of CS gas after Russian attacks: soil and water analyses, interviews with military personnel, and photos of Russian-made RG-Vo hand grenade casings with toxic substances.

"Given the seriousness of the situation, in the absence of a truthful explanation from Russia regarding its widely documented use of tear gas, and to strengthen the global ban on the use of chemical weapons, the European Union calls on the OPCW to promptly attribute the established use of such substances as a method of warfare," the document states.

As the publication notes, in addition to the sanctions package related to the use of banned chemical weapons, the EU intends to approve restrictive measures due to Russian cyberattacks and destabilization campaigns in Europe.

They are followed by a package of sanctions planned for February 17, 2022, related to the Russian Federation's war in Ukraine.

  • On April 14, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that the Russians have increasingly begun using deadly poison gas ammunition on the front lines. This weaponry is causing casualties among Ukrainian defenders.
  • On April 17, the "South" operational command confirmed that Russian occupation forces are using "shaheeds" with dangerous chemicals to strike Ukraine.