On Friday (4.07.2025), the German intelligence service (BND) along with the Dutch MIVD military intelligence and civilian AIVD published a joint message in which they accused Russia of serious violations of the global Chemical Weapons Convention.
According to this, Russia, in addition to teardrop gas and another chemical weapons, besides uses the chemical agent of chloropicrin in the war in Ukraine, "which in advanced concentrations, in enclosed spaces can be fatal."
Last year the United Kingdom and the United States accused Russia of utilizing chloropicrin against Ukrainian soldiers. This oily substance, which was widely utilized during planet War I, leads to lung harm and can origin severe eye and skin irritation.
"This is an even more serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the usage of this chemical suffocating agent in all circumstances," stated the BND and the Dutch intelligence services. On Friday, Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans informed Parliament in The Hague of the results of the research.
"Systematically and on a large scale"
As he said, Russia uses chemical weapons "systematicly and on a large scale". This is simply a dangerous development, completely unacceptable, and one more time shows the “violence of the aggressor facing Ukraine”. Russia thus mostly lowers the threshold for the usage of chemical weapons in conflicts," said Brekelmans. This besides poses a threat to "the remainder of Europe and the world". The Dutch defence minister called for further sanctions and isolation of Russia and advocated unchanging military support for Ukraine.
The intelligence services study besides cites data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. According to them, Russia has utilized chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces 9,000 times since the start of the war of aggression against this country in February 2022. At least 3 people were killed in contact with chemical weapons.
As further stated: "Russian usage of chemical weapons indirectly led to much more Ukrainian casualties". It forced Ukrainian soldiers to leave hiding, so they could be killed with conventional weapons.
Investments in chemical weapons
According to the BND and the Dutch intelligence services, Russian military command and Russian radiological, chemical and biological defence forces actively advance the usage of chemical weapons. The usage of teardrop gas and chlorpicrin "has become common practice and everyday life and will most likely proceed to be a threat in the future".
"In addition to massive investments in the Russian chemical weapons program, this country is besides expanding its investigation into chemical weapons," the intelligence services stated. This is besides seen in the recruitment of fresh scientists for this program.
