Russia’s Attack: 626 Chemical Weapons, Iranian Drones, and North Korean Missiles Involved

It has been suggested that the Russian military has been consistently using chemical weapons, which are prohibited under international agreements, on the Ukrainian front. At the same time, it has been revealed that they are replenishing their weapons using Iranian drones and North Korean ballistic missiles.

A report released by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the United States on the 14th (local time) stated, “The Ukrainian military’s General Staff has counted a total of 626 uses of chemical weapons by Russia since the war began in February 2022.”

According to ISW, chemical weapons have been used 51 times so far this year, with a maximum of 10 times a day.

The report also included content that the Russian military is firing CS gas, a type of tear gas, at the Ukrainian military’s trenches. It is known that the Russian military is using a method of filling this CS gas with K-51 grenades and loading them onto drones to drop them in Ukrainian positions.

CS gas is a substance that should not be used on the battlefield according to the International Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) concluded in 1997, and Russia is also a member of the CWC. It has no lethal power, but when it acts on the human body, it causes respiratory difficulties, mucous membrane irritation, and chemical burns such as skin rashes.

In addition, the 810th Marine Infantry Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet mentioned last December that they used K-51 grenades to drive the Ukrainian military out of their fortified positions and then attacked them.

In relation to this, the New York Times (NYT) recently reported that the Russian military used a method of detonating tear gas to induce Ukrainian soldiers to run out of trenches and hiding places, and then detonating explosives.

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In addition, it has been revealed that Russia is using Iranian drones and North Korean ballistic missiles as it intensifies its air strikes against Ukraine.

The Financial Times (FT) of the UK, quoting Ukrainian officials and military analysts, reported that “Russia’s recent air strikes are different in scale and sophistication from last winter’s attacks.”

Russian officials said that from the 29th of last month to the 2nd of this month alone, drones and missiles were fired more than 500 times.

Russia is also attacking under careful planning, such as firing drones and missiles in sequence to suppress Ukraine’s air defense network, and is increasingly targeting the Ukrainian defense industry.

It was also reported that Russia is in discussions to receive short-range ballistic missiles from Iran. Iran has the largest ballistic missile program in the Middle East and can supply hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia from the initial stage.