United States: Russia Repeatedly Used Tear Gas In Ukraine
The United States’ State Department says that Russian forces have “repeatedly” used tear gas in Ukraine, violating the Chemical Weapons Convention with use of handheld and drone dropped tear gas grenades against Ukrainian positions.
In its Annual Report on Compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) covering the period January 1 through December 31, 2023, the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability stated:
“In May 2023, Russia’s state-controlled Channel 1 broadcasted an interview with a Russian soldier describing the Russian Army’s use of tear gas to “smoke out” Ukrainian forces. In the video, drone footage shows a grenade being dropped into a trench, smoke billowing from the trench, and then soldiers fleeing from the trench. On the broadcast, the soldier states, “We are trying to force them out with smoke.” The broadcast then goes on to state, “Soldiers from the 88th Brigade are using the so-called ‘Bird-Cherry’ tear grenades.” In December 2023, Russia’s 810th Naval Infantry Brigade stated on its Telegram channel that the brigade is using a “radical change in tactics” by dropping K-51 grenades on Ukrainian forces.
In addition to these Russian reports, there have been several Ukrainian reports on use of RCAs by Russia’s forces. On September 23, 2022, Ukraine’s Operational Command South alleged a Russian drone strike dropping grenade devices that released a noxious smoke in a Facebook post. Operation Command South identified a Soviet-era K-51 tear gas grenade designed to disseminate the powdered, highly irritating riot control agent CS (2-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile). Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces (AFU) posted photos of a spent K-51 tear gas grenade and a downed quadcopter on Facebook on October 12, 2023. The AFU Facebook allegation stated that Russian forces had dropped K-51 grenades from drones on Ukrainian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region. At the 28th session of the OPCW CSP, the Ukrainian representative expressed serious concerns about “the Russian Federation uses [of] riot control agents as a method of warfare in Ukraine”. On December 4, 2022, the Naval Forces of AFU charged on their Facebook page that Russia dropped K-51 grenades on Ukrainian “defenders in the East” who were able to hold their positions through their chemical defenses.”
The report also expresses concern about the alleged use of chloropicrin, referencing claims made by the Ukrainian representative to the 28th meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that Russian forces had added the agent to tear gas grenades.
The report assesses that Russia is not in compliance with the CWC, citing the 2018 assassination attempts against Sergei and Yulia Skripal and the 2020 attempted assassination of Aleksey Navalny with “novichok” nerve agents as a violation of the Convention.
Additionally, the US assesses that Russia has an undeclared chemical warfare program, and is “concerned” that Russia is developing a pharmaceutical-based agent for offensive purposes, more specifically an derivative of the aerosolized fentanyl agent used during the October 2002 Dubrovka theater hostage crisis.
The Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability adds that it is “gravely concerned” about possible Russian support for the the 2018 use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Air Force in Douma, as well as covering up the aftermath and conducting a disinformation campaign in defense of Bashar al-Assad’s government.