Captain Andriy Rudyk, a representative of the Centre for Research of Trophy and Advanced Weapons and Military Equipment, said at a briefing at the Military Media Center that Russia is increasing the use of gas grenades with banned lethal substances.
Rudyk noted that the development of new RG-VO gas grenades using chloroacetophenone may indirectly indicate that Russia lied in 2017 about fulfilling its obligations under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
The start of the use of chloroacetophenone in the presence of chlorobenzalmononodinitrile may indicate Russia's testing the world community's reaction.
"We do not rule out that the Russian Federation may in the future resort to the use of chemical warfare agents directly prohibited by the 1993 Convention," said Rudyk.
In December 2023 alone, 81 such cases of gas grenades were recorded. In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 626 cases of chemical attacks against Ukrainian defenders have been reported.