The EU will officially accuse Russia of using chemical weapons in combat in Ukraine

The EU will officially accuse Russia of using chemical weapons in combat in Ukraine

The Council of the European Union has developed a new sanctions regulation, where Russia is officially accused for the first time of using CS tear gas on the front in Ukraine as a method of warfare.

This is stated in the explanatory part of the document, which was reviewed by "Systeem," an investigative project of the "Current Time" TV channel and Radio Liberty.

It indicates that EU representatives refer to reports from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), published at the request of the Ukrainian side in November 2024 and February 2025.

These reports analyze cases of gas use near the villages of Maryivka and Illinka in the Dnipropetrovsk region in 2024. Experts provide evidence of the presence of CS gas traces after Russian attacks: soil and water analyses, interviews with military personnel, as well as photographs of RGD-Vz (from "hand grenade - poisonous substance") grenade casings. These are Russian-made grenades; in 2024, the Russian propaganda channel RT showed how Russian military forces use such grenades.

The justification for the EU sanctions states: "Given the seriousness of the situation, in the absence of a credible explanation from Russia in connection with its widely documented use of tear-inducing agents, and in order to strengthen the global ban on the use of chemical weapons, the European Union calls on the OPCW to timely attribute the established use of such substances as a method of warfare."

The sanctions list of the European Union will include: The Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the 27th and 33rd scientific centers, associated with the development and use of chemical agents.

CS is a tear gas, also known as "Siren." It causes severe irritation to the eyes, skin, and respiratory tracts: a person suffocates and loses orientation. Formally, CS is considered a non-lethal riot control agent and is used by police in many countries. The use of such substances as weapons is prohibited by Article 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, representatives of the European Union emphasize.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, capsules with such gas are found not only in grenades but also inside "Shahed" drones.

Previously, the United States imposed sanctions due to Russia’s use of chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine: these were related to the use of a more toxic form of tear gas - chloropicrin. The European Union in 2025 imposed restrictions on Russia’s use of dual-use goods that could be involved in the production of this substance.

This is one of three packages of restrictive measures that the EU plans to approve in the coming days. Two more packages will deal with Russian cyber-attacks and a destabilization campaign in Europe. Another (the 17th since February 2022) package of sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine is planned thereafter.