In order to capture the Kupyansk-Kuzlovyy railway junction, which is important for Russians, the enemy army has started using banned chemical weapons in the Kupyansk sector. This was stated by Denys Yaroslavskyy, commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's intelligence unit.
"The enemy actively uses artillery. And since yesterday evening, they have started using means of mass destruction, such as gases. That is, the fighters' breathing is difficult, they suffer from burns and dizziness - we can feel and see it. For the second day, the enemy has been using them, systematically telling us when they have fired prohibited weapons. We understand that it has started," the officer says.
He notes that everything that the Russians say cannot be used is being used. The enemy is using phosphorus in the Bakhmut sector and chemical weapons in the Kupiansk sector.
The officer also adds that this is not the first time that the Russian occupiers have used chemical weapons. For the first time, the Ukrainian military encountered chemical weapons in Hostomel.
"When our unit entered the hangar where the Mriya aircraft was located, we were poisoned because we had been there for more than three hours. There were a lot of hospitalised soldiers, and that was the first time we felt it," Yaroslavskyy said.
The officer believes that in the Kupyansk sector, Russians are trying to capture the Kupyansk-Kuzlovyy railway junction, which is important to them.
"They need Kupyansk-Kuzlovyy. I believe they are trying to storm the entire direction. Of course, Avdiyivka is a priority for them now. They will lay down the law there, but they will try to take Avdiyivka somehow. And our direction, where we have been redeployed, is Kupyansk-Kuzlovyy - their priority point," the commander added.
According to Yaroslavskyy, the Russians still use 80% of their logistics route by rail, so they need to control the railway.