ISW believes Russians are using chemical weapons on left bank of Kherson Oblast

Ivashkiv Olena — Sunday, 24 December 2023, 04:54

Soviet grenade K-51. Photo: mil.in.ua

Russian forces have deployed chemical weapons in Kherson Oblast and made a slight advance along the left bank of the Dnipro River.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Geolocation footage released on 23 December shows that Russian troops advanced in the western part of Krynky on the river's eastern bank.

According to military analysts, the 810th Marine Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has confirmed that it is deliberately using chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces.

The ISW stressed that this is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Russia is a party.

On 22 December, the 810th Brigade posted a lengthy message on its Telegram channel, in which it spoke about the "radical change in tactics" that the brigade is using against Ukrainian troops in Krynky.

The report claimed that units of the 810th Brigade had rotated in the area of Krynky and were using a new tactic of "dropping K-51 grenades from drones" on Ukrainian positions to oust Ukrainian forces from their positions.

The 810th Marine Brigade additionally published footage that appears to show such a K-51 being dropped on a Ukrainian position, probably in Krynky.

According to the ISW, aerosol grenades are K-51s filled with CS (2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile) irritant gas, a type of tear gas used for riot control (also known as riot control agent (RCA)).

The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of RCA as a method of warfare, and Russia has been a party to the Convention since 1997.

The ISW previously noted that Russian forces used K-51 grenades against the Ukrainian military in Donetsk Oblast in November 2022.

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 23 December:

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