Samples taken at the front in Ukraine show traces of a prohibited CS gas, tear gas that is prohibited in war according to the Geneva Convention. This is stated by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using chemical weapons in the war. The now analyzed samples are the first to show the use of tear gas in areas where active warfare is ongoing.
Besides in soil samples, the gas has also been found in samples from remnants of grenades, according to OPCW.
The gas is not lethal, but can cause irritation to the lungs and eyes as well as on the skin.
The samples were taken after a request from Ukraine for OPCW to send a delegation to the country. Three samples, one from a grenade and two from the ground, were taken in trenches near the village of Illinka in the Dnipropetrovsk region after a Russian attack on September 20.
OPCW emphasizes that it has not, and will not, identify the origin of the gas.
