Russia is intensifying the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, according to intelligence from several agencies.
This was reported to journalists in Brussels on July 15 after the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.
“Information about Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Ukraine comes from Dutch and German intelligence. And this use is intensifying. These are open sources, as the Dutch Ministry of Defense has published this,” Kallas emphasized.
She added that it was a revelation to her that since the start of the full-scale invasion,
“Russia has already used chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces 9,000 times. This is serious. Intelligence says they are increasing such attacks. This causes great concern,” Kallas said. “Again, this shows that Russia wants to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible to force Ukraine to surrender,” the EU High Representative concluded.
As previously reported, Patrick Bolder, a strategic analyst and defense expert at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and former lieutenant colonel of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, stated that Russia’s use of chemical weapons is becoming part of its military doctrine. Therefore, there is a risk of so-called accidental or deliberate incidents, for example, during Russian military exercises near the NATO border.
The Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD), and the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) warn that Russia’s use of chemical weapons against Ukraine is expanding.
