Order to poison Ukrainian Armed Forces with chemical weapons

Russian General Ihor Kirillov gave orders to use chemical weapons against the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was declared suspicious in absentia.

This was reported by the press service of the Security Service of Ukraine on Monday, December 16.

What is known about Kirillov's war crimes

The SSU says that Russian Lieutenant General Kirillov is responsible for the massive use of banned chemical weapons by the occupiers against the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the eastern and southern front lines of Ukraine. The Russians are trying to hide the use of chemical agents under heavy artillery fire.

"Under Kirillov's orders, more than 4,800 cases of the enemy's use of chemical weapons have been recorded since the start of the full-scale war," the report says.

The special service notes that these are "К-1" combat grenades, which are equipped with toxic irritants — CS and CN. Their use is prohibited by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction on January 13, 1993.

"During the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, more than two thousand military personnel of the Armed Forces with varying degrees of chemical poisoning were sent to military hospitals and other medical institutions of Ukraine," the SSU emphasizes.

The security service emphasizes that the invaders mostly use ammunition with toxic substances in the form of discharges from FPV drones onto the defense points of the Ukrainian defenders.

"When a grenade with a chemical warhead is activated, its poisonous compounds affect the mucous membranes of a person, primarily the eyes and respiratory tract. In this way, Russians are trying to force Ukrainian soldiers to leave the trenches under direct fire of the occupiers," the press service added.

The SSU noted that it had already identified that Russian grenades with poisonous substances and corresponding soil samples on the battlefield and transferred them to the international Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

"Two laboratories of this institution, which operate separately from each other, confirmed the corresponding war crimes of Russia," the Security Service concluded.

It should be recalled that Ukraine has been recording the crimes committed by Russia since 2014, but with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, their number has increased several times. Currently, more than 150 thousand war crimes of the Russian Federation in Ukraine have been established.

In addition, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the Secretary General of the EU Council Alain Berset. They discussed creating a special tribunal for Russia to punish it and hold it accountable.