Russia’s use of unidentified gas surges on the front line, Ukraine lacks detectors

Russia is increasingly deploying unidentified gas in its latest chemical warfare tactic against Ukrainian troops, who are losing ground across the hotspots of the eastern front line.

Ukraine is currently unable to identify the majority of the gas used on the battlefield, compared to previous months when it could diagnose about half of the chemicals, according to Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk.

Russian troops have used chemical agents banned in warfare as a psychological operation to sow panic among the Ukrainian forces, said Vlasiuk from the Support Forces’ Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Command, a branch of the army responsible for inspecting chemical warfare.

Russian drones throw gas grenades into dugouts or trenches in a brutal tactic to force Ukrainian soldiers out into the open field, making them easy prey for drone or artillery attacks.