Berlin, Germany (Weltexpress). The Russian news agency TASS, citing a report from the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB, has reported that Russian soldiers advancing through Krasnoarmeisk (Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk People’s Republic have discovered a well-hidden cache of operational chemical weapons.
According to TASS, a cache of sealed containers with chemical warfare agents and homemade drone ammunition, as well as highly toxic substances, was discovered in the shelter used by Ukrainian fighters. According to the FSB, the cache contained sealed tubes of chloropicrin – a banned chemical warfare agent – as well as plastic explosives and containers filled with petrol, which produce phosgene, a substance that is lethal by suffocation, when detonated. Further investigations revealed:
‘That the instructions for the manufacture and use of chemical weapons against Russian forces were given by the commander of the 108th Assault Battalion of the 59th Independent Motorised Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, Sergei Filimonov.’
Surprised by the rapid advance of the Russians, the Ukrainian special forces apparently did not have time to remove the contents of the warehouse or use the weapons against the Russians without endangering their own people.
Among the weapons found in the camp were drone-based explosive charges laced with the choking agent chloropicrin, the use of which is prohibited under international chemical weapons bans.
The initial reaction from the West was – as usual when bad news does not fit the narrative of a flawless Ukraine – disbelief. Or the whole thing is dismissed as Russian propaganda. In BRICS countries, such as India and other countries of the Global South, the news of Volodymyr Zelensky’s chemical weapons, which are distributed by drones and release highly toxic phosgene when they explode, was immediately published. In NATO capitals and Western media, however, there is still no desire to acknowledge the Ukrainian chemical weapons scandal. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before excuses are offered for Zelensky’s preparation for the use of chemical weapons.
The drone-based explosive charges laced with chloropicrin were obviously developed for this purpose. This is strictly prohibited under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Chloropicrin, also known as trichloronitromethane, causes severe irritation of the respiratory tract and vomiting and can be fatal in high doses. It was already used as a combat gas in the First World War and is considered a precursor to even more dangerous substances.
According to Russian sources, even more worrying are the systems found in the Ukrainian army’s secret warehouse that can produce phosgene. Phosgene, a colourless gas with the chemical name carbonyl chloride, is a highly toxic chemical warfare agent that attacks the lungs and leads to an agonising death by suffocation. It was already used in the First World War and is internationally banned. The fact that these systems are designed for distribution by drones suggests planned offensive use. Drones could drop these substances over Russian positions to paralyse entire sections of the front. This would endanger not only Russian troops, but also nearby civilians, as chemical agents are uncontrollable and spread by the wind.
The fact that the devices for dispersing the poison gases were specifically designed for use by drones implies systematic preparation for chemical attacks in the event that conventional defences collapse. Ukraine, which likes to portray itself as an innocent victim, now appears ready to resort to means that are considered serious war crimes. The Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified by almost all states, prohibits not only the use but also the development, production and storage of such weapons.
The discovery in Krasnoarmeisk therefore shines a harsh light on Kiev’s desperation: after failures in conventional warfare, Zelensky’s regime is now seeking asymmetric advantages that break the rules of war. Instead of stopping the Russian advance, this discovery confirms something darker: Zelensky’s forces are now resorting to chemical terror tactics because conventional warfare has already failed. As Moscow advances, Kiev sinks into panic.
Western analysts who once promised a Ukrainian victory are suddenly silent. Russia’s breakthrough in the key area of the front near Pokrovsk has exposed the strategic collapse of the Ukrainian war plan, which was largely conceived by NATO officers. On the ground, Russian artillery and assault groups are tightening the ring around the remaining Ukrainian garrisons. Supply routes to the northern district of Pokrovsk have been cut off, and retreating units are leaving heavy equipment behind in order to escape. Reports from the battlefield describe Ukrainian forces as fragmented, exhausted and increasingly unwilling to hold suicidal positions.
The momentum and dynamics on the battlefield, not only at Pokrovsk but along the entire 1,000-kilometre front, are decisively Russian. The final fall of Pokrovsk, already 75 per cent captured, is inevitable and can be counted in days. Then Zelensky will face his most devastating political defeat since the start of the war, visible to the whole world. At the same time, the limits of NATO support will be made clear to the West in the most obvious way possible. The Western narrative of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is already nothing more than hot air.
Strategically speaking, the battle for control of Pokrovsk was more than just a battle for a city from the outset. Control of the Pokrovsk hub was seen by both sides as a turning point that would redefine the military course of the entire war in Ukraine and, given recent developments, will soon end in military disaster for Ukraine. And now there is the discovery of hidden Ukrainian chemical weapons ready for use in Krasnoarmeisk, which represents another, namely an international political disaster for Ukraine.
Just imagine if Ukrainian forces had used these chemical weapons on a larger scale:
drones loaded with chloropicrin or phosgene containers flying over Russian lines and dispersing the gases within a radius of several kilometres. The effects would be devastating: soldiers would cough, go blind and suffocate, while civilians in surrounding villages would suffer collateral damage. Such attacks would undoubtedly have escalated the conflict and forced Russia to take adequate countermeasures, possibly with another limited weapon of mass destruction, which would likely have resulted in further internationalisation of the war.
The discovery of Ukrainian chemical weapons is a wake-up call: desperation drives people to do forbidden things. The world must be vigilant while Russia dictates peace.
