‘Just Ordinary Terrorists’: Russia Deploys Chemical Weapons Near Kupyansk

The Russian military has begun more actively using munition drops containing toxic substances, according to Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, on Monday, March 31.

He added that several such incidents have recently been reported in the Kupyansk sector of the Kharkiv region.

“Russians have started actively using poison drops. Several incidents have been reported recently in the Kupyansk sector. Russia is essentially using banned chemical substances, violating every rule of warfare. Just ordinary terrorists – as they’ve always been,” Kovalenko wrote on Telegram.

In November 2024, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) officially confirmed for the first time the use of a chemical gas intended for mass harm in a combat zone in Ukraine.

The chemical identified was CS gas – a prohibited chemical agent – discovered during sample analysis after an incident near the village of Illinka in the Dnipropetrovsk region on Sept. 20, 2024.

The OPCW report emphasized that this constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and poses an additional threat to the civilian population. It was the first documented and confirmed case of the use of a banned gas in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Last December Kyiv Post reported that Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s radiation, chemical, and biological protection forces, was killed in an explosion in Moscow.

Other Topics of Interest

Russian Military Recruitment Falls Across Country

Sources told Verstka that recruitment has declined despite record financial incentives, as officials reportedly explore new reserve rotations and potential mobilization measures.

Kyiv Post’s sources within Ukraine’s special services said Kirillov’s death was the result of a special operation carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).

“Kirillov was a war criminal and a legitimate target. He was responsible for ordering the use of prohibited chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces,” an SBU source said. “This is the fate awaiting all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable,” the source told Kyiv Post.

From the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion through April 2024, Ukrainian forces recorded 1,891 instances of Russia using munitions loaded with hazardous chemical substances, according to Ukraine’s Support Forces Command.

The use of chemical weapons violates fundamental norms of international humanitarian law. The Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997, strictly prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical weapons under any circumstances.

Additionally, the Geneva Protocol of 1925 explicitly bans the use of poisonous gases in armed conflict. Such actions not only threaten military personnel but also pose significant risks to civilians caught in affected areas.