Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed in Moscow in December 2024, shortly after Ukraine’s Security Service accused him of responsibility for the systematic use of prohibited chemical agents against Ukrainian forces.
The continuation of chemical attacks after his death suggests that the practice was not dependent on a single commander, but is part of a broader military, production, and logistics system.
Russian forces use gas grenades and improvised devices containing irritant agents to drive Ukrainian troops from shelters and expose them to conventional fire. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed the presence of 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS), commonly called tear gas, in samples from the front lines.
Ukraine is building an evidentiary foundation for identifying those responsible, from battlefield operators and commanders to manufacturers and munitions suppliers. The gap between international law and the evidentiary requirements of criminal prosecution complicates accountability for the use of CS, chloroacetophenone (CN), and chloropicrin.
by Victoriia Novikova/The Jamestown Foundation – Russian Military Uses Chemical Agents as a Standard Battlefield Tactic
