A Russian brigade admits dropping tear gas on Ukrainian troops, which would violate the UN Chemical Weapons Convention

• A Russian brigade said it had dropped tear gas as part of "a radical change in tactics."
• Using tear gas as a method of warfare would be a violation of international law.

A Russian brigade said it had dropped tear gas on a Ukrainian position in what would be a violation of international law.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet's 810th Naval Infantry Brigade wrote a message on Telegram about "a radical change in tactics," which included dropping K-51 grenades from drones onto enemy positions.

They said this tactic had been adopted to smoke them out from their fortified positions and then strike fleeing troops with combined weapons.

They also released a grainy drone video appearing to show the grenade being dropped, followed by smoke billowing from the target, against Ukrainian forces in Krynky, on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river.

The Russian K-51 aerosol grenades are filled with CS gas, which is a type of tear gas used for riot control, according to the think tank the Institute of the Study of War.

Tear gas is a flammable chemical agent that can cause severe eye, respiratory, and skin irritation and, in particularly high concentrations, permanent injuries and death.

Using tear gas and other riot control agents as a method of warfare is a violation of the United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Russia is a party.

The ISW said it had previously observed Russian forces using K-51 grenades against Ukrainian positions in Donetsk in November 2022.

The admission of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade comes after Ukrainian troops told CNN about a recent surge in the use of tear gas on the front lines.

One Ukrainian soldier described the experience: "We ran out from the trench and the gas suddenly caught fire. The trench was in flames. This gas burns, blinds you, you can't breathe, shoots down your throat immediately. We didn't even have a second."

Russia has been accused of a range of war crimes in Ukraine, including the use of explosive weapons and a high number of indiscriminate attacks that didn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.