Moscow is using a ‘wide range of chemical weapons with increasing frequency and is not hesitating to employ more potent agents’, European spies have warned
Russia is intensifying chemical weapons attacks including use of a deadly agent used during the First World War against Ukraine, according to an intelligence report.
The report was published after Moscow launched its largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine last night since the start of the war more than three years ago.
In a joint report released on Friday, the Dutch and German intelligence agencies warned of an increased use of chemical weapons by Moscow.
The agencies said Russia was “increasingly using a wide range of chemical weapons against Ukraine, and they do not shy away from using stronger substances such as chloropicrin”.
Chloropicrin, first used by Germany during the First World War, can be deadly in high concentrations within enclosed areas, causing severe irritation to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. If ingested, it can burn the mouth and stomach, and its use represents a severe breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans this asphyxiating agent under any conditions.
The United States first accused Russia of using chloropicrin in May last year.
Ukraine alleges more than 9,000 instances of chemical weapons use by Russia since the start of the war.
The head of the Dutch military intelligence agency, Peter Reesink, said the conclusions followed “our own independent intelligence, so we have observed it ourselves based on our own investigations”.
“The main conclusion is that we can confirm Russia is intensifying its use of chemical weapons,” Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
“It is happening systematically and on a substantial scale. This is a sliding scale. It is completely unacceptable and shows once again what a brutal aggressor Ukraine is facing.”
Brekelmans said the agencies were making the report public now, “because the Russian use of chemical weapons must not be normalised”.
“If the threshold for this use of these types of weapons is lowered, this is not only dangerous for Ukraine but also for the rest of Europe and the world,” he said, and called for “more sanctions, isolation of Russia, and undiminished military support for Ukraine”.
Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency confirmed the findings.
Referencing data from the Ukrainian defence ministry, the report said Russia has carried out more than 9,000 chemical weapons attacks on Ukrainian service members since the start of the war. At least three deaths have been directly linked to the use chemical weapons.
According to the report, Russian use of chemical weapons has indirectly caused numerous additional casualties, as many Ukrainian soldiers were forced out of their shelters by these agents and then killed with conventional munitions.
The i Paper has not been able to independently verify the use of banned chemical substances by either side in the Ukraine war.
The report comes as Russia escalates its drone and missile barrages on Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 476 of a record 539 Russian drones overnight into Friday, adding that Russia also launched 11 cruise and ballistic missiles. Ukraine said the capital, Kyiv, was the primary target of the attack, but strikes were also reported in the Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions.
At least 23 people were injured in the attacks on Kyiv, which forced thousands of residents to spend the night in shelters, including subway stations and underground parking lots, as explosions continued into the early hours of Friday morning.
No progress towards ceasefire
The attack came just hours after Donald Trump reported “no progress” toward a ceasefire in a call with Vladimir Putin, and ahead of a separate conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday for nearly an hour and later expressed frustration over the lack of progress towards a ceasefire.
“We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine,” Trump said. “I’m not happy about that.”
When asked whether he made any headway with Putin on a deal regarding Ukraine, Trump responded bluntly, “No”, and added, “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said: “Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv. One of the worst so far. Hundreds of Russian drones and ballistic missiles rained down on the Ukrainian capital. Right after Putin spoke with President Trump. And he does it on purpose.
“Every criminal regime in the world is now watching closely Putin’s actions and responses to them. If he gets away with all of this, everyone will get a very clear message,” he added.
Later when Trump spoke with Zelensky on Friday, they discussed air defence weapons and Russia’s escalating strikes, according to an Axios report.
US weapons pause ‘ordered by Hegseth’
The calls with Putin and Zelensky followed a decision by Washington to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine over what US officials claimed was because of low stockpiles.
However, on Friday, a report said the decision was a unilateral step by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and analysis by senior military officers found that the weapons would not jeopardise US supplies.
Citing three congressional aides and a former US official familiar with the matter, NBC News added that Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy, backed the move.
The halt blindsided the State Department, members of Congress, officials in Kyiv and European allies, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, the report added.
This would be the third time since February that Hegseth on his own has stopped shipments of aid to Ukraine, sources said, with his previous halts being reversed days later.
Kyiv has warned the move will weaken its ability to defend against intensifying attacks by Russia. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defence systems to bridge the gap.
