Over 4,800 incidents involving chemical weapons, including riot control agents, have been documented against Ukrainian forces since the war began, resulting in over 2,000 servicemen hospitalized with chemical poisoning and three fatalities. Russian forces utilize these weapons under the cover of intense attacks, hindering investigation and prosecution. The Ukrainian military faces challenges in identifying and mitigating these threats due to equipment limitations. Despite a recent decrease in K-51 tear gas grenade use due to colder weather, Ukraine maintains its commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
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Russia is increasingly using unidentified gas in its chemical warfare against Ukrainian troops, who are struggling to identify the majority of the chemicals used due to the lack of sophisticated detectors. Russian drones drop the gas grenades into trenches which forces Ukrainian soldiers out into the open fields, making them easy targets for drone or artillery attacks. In the 323 recorded incidents of chemical attacks by Russia in October, nearly all but 15 cases were unidentified. Ukraine has called for help from its Western allies to provide complex detectors to identify what chemical weapon is being used. The use of chemical agents, even if not lethal, on battlefields is considered a violation of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
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