Ukraine documents over 1,000 instances of Russian chemical weapon use
The Command of Support Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine documents cases of the Russians using chemical weapons. According to the data provided by the Ukrainian side, since the beginning of the war, there have been at least 1,068 such incidents, including, among others, the use of chloropicrin.
This agent, which was used in combat by Germany during World War I, does not kill in open spaces, but its purpose was to induce vomiting. This forced the users of gas masks to remove them and expose themselves to the effects of other, lethal chemical agents.
K-51 Grenades
Used by Russians in Ukraine, K-51 grenades with chloropicrin in terms of operating principle resemble grenades used worldwide by law enforcement to disperse demonstrations.
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In the case of the K-51, however, the concentration of the irritant is much higher, and the grenade itself was not created with law enforcement in mind, but as equipment for soldiers. Its use is meant to force hidden opponents to leave their safe shelter.
White phosphorus
In addition to grenades with chloropicrin, munitions containing white phosphorus are also used in Ukraine. In this case as well, it is a substance with dual purposes. It can legally be used, for example, as a smoke-producing and signalling agent. Using it as a weapon is a war crime, and WP journalist Przemysław Juraszek further explains the specifics of white phosphorus.
The restrictions on the use of white phosphorus stem from the fact that the combat use of this substance causes unimaginably great suffering to those affected by it. White phosphorus self-ignites upon contact with oxygen, burning at temperatures over 1000 degrees Celsius.
Using water does not help, and an ignited fragment will continue to burn even after being submerged. Upon contact with, for example, human skin, the burning substance sticks and burns through the body to the bone. The method of rescue then is quickly cutting out the body part along with the burning phosphorus.
