Law enforcement officers documented the war crimes of another Russian serviceman and reported in absentia the suspicion of the Russian brigade commander, who ordered to attack the Ukrainian defenders of the Donetsk region with banned chemical weapons.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
According to the investigation, this is Colonel Roman Shkroba, commander of the 123rd Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation.
On December 20, 2023, he ordered the use of K-51 and RG-Vo gas grenades against Ukrainian defenders in the Donetsk region. This was how the enemy tried to break through the Ukrainian defenses during continuous fighting in the area of the village of Spirne.
By using grenades with chemical charges, including tear gas, the Russians hoped to force Ukrainian soldiers to abandon their defensive shelters during the assault.
The defendant was informed of suspicion of a war crime committed in a prior conspiracy by a group of people.
- The Ukrainian Armed Forces command officially reported that Russian troops are using poisonous gases and tear gas ammunition on the battlefield. These are mostly K-51 and RGR grenades, which are dropped on positions by drones.
- According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in two years Russia has used munitions containing dangerous chemical substances more than 6 thousand times in the war against.
- The US State Department confirmed in May 2024 that the Russian army is using chloropicrin against Ukrainian soldiers, in violation of the UN Chemical Weapons Convention. The US has already imposed sanctions on Russia over this.
- The United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on the Russian Armed Forces for using chemical weapons in the war. The weapons in question were chloropicrin, known as “agent PS”, and nitrochloroform, a poisonous irritant gas.
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