The Dutch intelligence services MIVD (Military Intelligence Service) and AIVD (General Intelligence Service) are sounding the alarm: Russia is expanding the use of chemical warfare agents in the war against Ukraine (-> Latest news from the war in Ukraine) – including the use of internationally banned substances such as chloropicrin, a highly toxic substance that is lethal in high concentrations in enclosed spaces.
Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans informed parliament today about the latest findings. The use of tear gas by Russian units was already known beforehand. Now the MIVD and AIVD – in cooperation with the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) – have confirmed the systematic use of stronger chemical warfare agents.
“This is a particularly serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention,” said MIVD Director Vice Admiral Peter Reesink. “We are not only observing an intensification, but also an increasing naturalness in the use of such weapons by Russian forces.”
According to Brekelmans, this is a dangerous development: “Russia is going further and further and is using chemical weapons systematically and on a substantial scale. Under no circumstances should this practice become the norm. The lower the threshold for use becomes, the more dangerous it is – not just for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe and beyond.”
In this context, he called for tougher sanctions, international isolation of Moscow and continued strong military support for Ukraine.
Over 9,000 chemical weapons attacks – and a perfidious tactic
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russian forces have carried out over 9,000 attacks with chemical substances against Ukrainian military personnel since the start of the large-scale invasion in 2022. At least three deaths are directly attributed to contact with chemical substances.
Even more serious, however, is the indirect effect: the use of chemical agents forces Ukrainian soldiers to leave their positions or shelters – and they then come under targeted fire from conventional ammunition.
„Vertrauen kann man nicht befehlen – man muss es sich erarbeiten”
Russia’s RCB troops as the driving force
The Dutch services report that the Russian Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces (RCB) in particular not only tolerate the use of chemical warfare agents, but actively support and logistically secure them. The use of tear gas and chloropicrin is now standard practice in Russian operations – and will presumably continue to pose a real threat in the future.
Russia is also investing heavily in its chemical weapons program. Research is being expanded and new scientists are being actively recruited for the program.
