RED LINE
Putin’s forces ‘unleash chemical attacks on Ukrainian soldiers’ as Russians ‘drop gas on frontline daily’
Find out more about Russia's chilling history with chemical weapons
VLADIMIR Putin's forces have been accused of unleashing horrific chemical attacks on Ukrainian soldiers.
Russian troops are allegedly sending drones along the frontlines daily to drop banned packages full of tear gas and other dangerous chemicals on unsuspecting troops.
5
5
5
The terrifying use of the tactical drones has even forced Ukrainian fighters to carry gas masks with them in the trenches, says a top commander.
Any form of chemical gas is strictly prohibited in war under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
A commander of the Ukrainian army on the frontlines in Donetsk Oblast revealed: "Nearly every position in our area of the front was getting one or two gas grenades dropped on them a day.
"The only way for them to successfully attack us [is] with gas."
read more in Russia
Many Ukrainian troops have managed to successfully embed themselves in certain regions leading to Russian attacks being near impossible with conventional artillery, drones and missiles.
This has caused Putin to order his men to undertake a new form of warfare through a volatile chemical offensive.
The commander described the gas-carrying drones as effective for how they cause sheer panic within the frontlines.
He said when gas is detected "the first instinct is to get out".
Most read in The Sun
This gives Russian fighters an easier chance to pick off their fleeing enemies from far away.
Ukraine has claimed over 625 gas related attacks on their troops by Russia since the outbreak of the war over two-years-ago.
‘PURE BARBARITY’ Heartbreaking vid shows aftermath of Putin’s sick ‘double tap’ drone strikes as he kills FIREMEN rescuing civilians
A second commander from Robotnye, in Zaporizhzhia Oblast said his soldiers now carry around gas masks at all times.
Robotnye has been a bloody battlefield for weeks now due to an ongoing Russian offensive in the region.
The commander also has grave concerns over the effectiveness of his men's masks saying they are ex-soviet models and not fit for modern day war.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has also stated Ukraine is in dire need of more weapons to launch effective counteroffensives.
He said last Sunday: "We don't have shells for counteroffensive actions, as for the defence - there are several initiatives, and we're receiving weapons."
One of the grenades allegedly containing tear gas was examined by the Telegraph, and confirmed by chemical weapons expert Marc-Michael Blum as a K-51 gas grenade.
These volatile weapons are typically found filled with tear gas.
Why are chemical weapons banned in war?
CHEMICAL weapons were first used in a major war with World War I, when both sides used poisonous gas to cause intense suffering on the battlefield.
Chlorine, phosgene - a choking agent - and mustard gas which inflicts painful burns on the skin were some of the chemicals used.
It is estimated nearly 100,000 people died as a result of chemical attacks.
And since World War I, chemical weapons have caused more than one million casualties.
After public outrage, the Geneva Protocol, was signed in 1925 to prohibit the use of chemical weapons.
Today, any form of chemical gas is strictly prohibited in war under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Since the end of World War II, almost all cases of chemical attacks in war have been obsolete outside of a few cases.
Most notably by Iraq in the 1980s against Iran.
The grenade was found by US combat medic Rebekah Maciorowski who claims soldiers gave her it in the 53rd Mechanised Brigade.
The troops reportedly gave over the weapon because "nobody believed they were being attacked with chemical weapons".
Maciorowski also says she saw a suspected hydrogen cyanide attack last year.
Britain's Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said back in 2022, if Russia were found to have used banned chemical weapons on the battlefield then "nothing would be ruled out" in response.
RUSSIA'S CHEMICAL HISTORY
Russia has a chilling past with chemical weapons especially to target people tyrant Putin deems as a threat to his power.
In 2006, Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium in London - and claimed Putin had directly ordered his assassination.
Then in 2018, former GRU agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok in Salisbury.
Anti-terror cops discovered the nerve agent used was military-grade Novichok, made in Russia - sparking a fresh wave of concern over the country's production and use of chemical weapons.
Several Kremlin critics such as Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin have also told supporters they believed they were poisoned by chemical attacks ordered by Putin.
It comes as another sinister Putin tactic was revealed this week as Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russian spies have been active in Europe for years.
Putin snoops were caught working at the Nato headquarters in a humiliating intelligence breach before being thrown out of the HQ in Brussels, Belgium.
Stoltenberg added that spies "have been active in European countries for many years".
Ukraine has also warned Germany is "riddled with Russian spies".
Their national security adviser Oleksiy Danilov claimed they were "vulnerable" to espionage due to Russia's "very active" spy network in Germany.
Meanwhile, it is feared there are likely hundreds of spies based in the UK and hiding in Suburbia - and are nearly impossible to spot.
A former Russian spy previously claimed to The Sun that there were at least four Russian agents working in Westminster.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Boris Karpichkov, 62, said: "I know of four sleepers of Russian security services.
"There are several Parliament-sponsored organisations operating in Westminster directly linked to Russian security service operations."
5
5