By Mykola Kuznietsov
Head of the WMD, Non-Proliferation, and CBR Defense Training Center of Ukraine, Mykola Kuznietsov, discusses the training of non-commissioned officers in defending against Russian chemical weapons attacks.
The use of chemical weapons in military conflicts is a serious violation of international law and humanitarian norms. It is one of the worst forms of warfare, with serious consequences for humanity and the environment. Numerous reports in recent years have accused the army of the Russian Federation of using dangerous chemical substances during hostilities.
Chemical weapons, specifically chlorine gas, were first used during World War I by German forces against allied powers. Since then, the international community has adopted a number of agreements aimed at prohibiting the use of chemical weapons, including the 1925 Geneva Protocol of the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, and the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993. Russia is a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention, but numerous reports from the Ukrainian side have pointed to consistent violations of this agreement.
Riot Control Agents and the Chemical Weapons Convention
During the conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine, reports periodically appear about the use of chemical substances on the battlefield by the Russian army. In particular, the use of chloropicrin together with other chemical anti-riot agents has been reported.
According to Article I, paragraph 5 of the Convention, each State Party undertakes not to use riot control agents as a method of warfare, and the toxic chemical chloropicrin is included in the Annex on Chemicals Schedule 3 of the Convention along with such substances as phosgene, cyanide chloride, and hydrogen cyanide.
Chemical attacks are known to cause serious and often fatal injuries, including cessation of breathing, skin burns, and eye damage, and the use of chemical weapons can result in mass civilian casualties, cause serious medical complications in those affected, as well as long-term environmental problems. This can undermine international confidence in the state using it, lead to sanctions, and complicate diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts.
To prevent the occurrence of negative consequences, the international community, including the OPCW, called for an investigation into the use of chemical substances on the battlefield, and in accordance with Article X, paragraph 8, at the request of Ukraine, will continue to provide all necessary assistance and protection against the use or threat of use of chemical weapons. However, due to the complex situation on the ground, conducting independent investigations is often difficult.
Meanwhile, during an online meeting in May 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiga, and Director-General of the OPCW, Fernando Arias, discussed the possible use of special ammunition equipped with toxic chemicals by Russian forces against Ukrainian forces. It was noted that the competent Ukrainian authorities were conducting pre-trial investigations with the aim of bringing guilty persons to justice.
In November 2024 and again in February 2025, following visits by OPCW experts at the request of Ukraine, the OPCW confirmed that riot control agents had been used along confrontation lines against Ukrainian positions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
OPCW Training and Assistance to Ukraine
To reduce the possibility of personnel being exposed to hazardous chemicals, the OPCW has been working on delivering protective, detection, and identification equipment to Ukraine, as well as providing training courses on emergency response.
To ensure the execution of tasks across all combat conditions, personnel of the Ukrainian defense forces and in particular the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGSU) are provided with appropriate means of individual skin and respiratory protection. These include all-military gas masks with filter-absorbing systems that are designed to protect against specific chemical agents, and Soviet-style protective suits. However, more modern protective equipment with improved characteristics that is used by NATO countries has recently been supplied to Ukrainian units.
This includes skin protection suits that have a more reliable and high-quality product design, and respiratory protective equipment with improved masks and modern filters that protect personnel not only from weapons of mass destruction, but also from the consequences of industrial accidents and attacks on chemical industry enterprises. In addition to protective equipment, various filtering combat overalls and technical equipment for radiation detection and dosimetry control, chemical detection and control equipment, decontamination kits and systems, indicator equipment, and mobile complexes have also been supplied to SBGSU units. But just providing equipment is not enough. Continuous personnel training to improve skills and the use of tools and kits is essential.
State Border Guard Service Training
Training SBGSU personnel in the use of personal protective equipment is a critically important aspect of staff training, especially given current challenges and threats. Individual protection of respiratory organs and skin ensure the safety of border guards during official duties in combat arenas. The use of protective equipment increases the confidence of personnel actions by reducing the likelihood of injuries and poisonings on the battlefield from a wide range of hazardous chemicals. Therefore, training in the use of protective equipment procedures is one of the first and currently relevant elements of SBGSU staff training.
During the first stages of training non-commissioned officers for operations in environments where weapons of mass destruction have been used, the basic concepts of the properties of toxic chemicals, combat status, ways of penetration into the body, symptoms, and providing first aid to the victim are prioritized.
Non-commissioned officers will pay special attention to preparing and using gas masks and protective equipment, particularly by studying their purpose, composition, application procedures, storage rules, risk assessments, and decision-making. In addition, conducting realistic practical classes develops special skills in using equipment. Personnel training is conducted by instructors who have experience in the use of protective equipment, and they provide practical advice on the use of such equipment in various conditions of environmental pollution including dangerous chemical and military poisons, radioactive dust, and biological threats.
To consolidate the skills of personnel in using respiratory and protective equipment, the SBGSU has created a personnel combat training procedure that continuously increases individual and collective skills of SBGSU units for actions in possible CBRN environments. This increases personnel confidence in individual means of protection and increases quality of task performance. These trainings consider defined tasks, deployment places, staffing, capabilities of the educational base, and deployment of the unit’s personnel, all taking into account the experience of the units’ participation in combat operations.
The training of narrow-profile specialists, whose activities are related to the provision of chemical, biological, and radiological units’ protection, is carried out both according to the approved educational programs of personnel training and advanced training courses, and in accordance with the separate training program for CBRN protection and environmental safety specialists. This approach provides an opportunity to conduct both individual and group training to channel theoretical knowledge into a practical component to perform functional tasks and duties.
International Community
The use of chemical weapons during the conflict in Ukraine is a serious violation of international law and has significant humanitarian and political consequences. Protecting against chemical attacks requires constant implementation of a set of measures to comprehensively provide personnel with gas masks, protective equipment, kits, devices, and most importantly, proper training and education of personnel.
The international community must continue its efforts to properly investigate the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield and bring those responsible for these crimes to justice.
Mykola Kuznietsov is the Head of the Weapons of Mass Destruction, Non-Proliferation, and Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Defense Training Center of Ukraine.
