Russian army uses chemical weapons to drive Ukrainian army from the left bank of Kherson region – ISW
The 810th Marine Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has confirmed that it deliberately used chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces.
This is stated in the analytical report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In particular, on December 22, the 810th Separate Marine Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet published a large post on its Telegram channel, in which it described a “radical change in tactics” that the brigade was using against Ukrainian troops in Krynky. According to military analysts, the military has confirmed that it is deliberately using chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces.
The post claimed that units of the 810th Separate Marine Brigade had rotated to the Krynky area and were using a new tactic of “dropping K-51 grenades from drones” on Ukrainian positions to drive Ukrainian forces out of their positions. The military additionally published footage that apparently shows such a K-51 dropping on a Ukrainian position, probably in Krynky.
According to the ISW, K-51 aerosol grenades are filled with irritant gas CS (2-chlorobenzalmonononitrile), a type of tear gas used in crowd control (also known as a riot control agent [RCA]).
ISW emphasized that this is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Russia is a party. The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of RCA as a method of warfare, and Russia has been a state party to the Convention since 1997.
Geolocation footage released on December 23 shows that Russian troops have advanced in the western part of Krynky on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
