The SBU has served a notice of suspicion in absentia to Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who ordered the use of chemical weapons against the Ukrainian Defence Forces, the service said in a press release.
The Security Service has documented war crimes on the part of Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical and biological defence troops.
The official is responsible for the massive use of banned chemical weapons by Russians against the Defence Forces on the eastern and southern fronts of Ukraine.
On Kirillov's orders, since the beginning of the full-scale war, more than 4,800 cases of enemy use of chemical munitions have been recorded. In particular, these are K-1 combat grenades, which are equipped with irritant chemical agents CS and CN. Their use is prohibited by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction of 13 January 1993.
During the full-scale Russian invasion, more than 2,000 members of the Defence Forces were sent to military hospitals and other medical facilities in Ukraine with varying degrees of chemical poisoning. The occupiers mostly use ammunition with toxic substances in the form of drops from FPV drones on the defence points of Ukrainian defenders.
When chemical grenades are detonated, their poisonous compounds affect human mucous membranes, especially the eyes and respiratory tract. In this way, the occupiers are trying to force Ukrainian soldiers to come out of the trenches under direct fire.
According to the investigation, the occupiers use hazardous chemicals mainly in the hottest areas of the fighting, where they try to hide the use of chemical agents under heavy artillery fire.
Two laboratories of this institution, which operate separately from each other, confirmed the relevant Russian war crimes.
Based on the collected evidence, SBU investigators served Kirillov a notice of suspicion in absentia under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (war crime committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons).
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing to document other facts of violations of international humanitarian law by the occupiers. The operation was conducted under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office.