New unconfirmed video purportedly shows the armed forces of Ukraine deploying chemical weapons against Russian soldiers.
One video, posted by popular pro-Russia Twitter user Donbass Devushka, appears to show a Russian soldier descend into involuntary convulsions and drowning after being hit with what seems to be a chemical gas.
“Ukrainians allegedly dropping chemical weapons onto Russian soldiers. Unpunished warcrime,” alleged in a tweet featuring the video.
Warning: Graphic Content Ahead
Ukrainians allegedly dropping chemical weapons onto Russian soldiers. Unpunished warcrime #16363733 pic.twitter.com/hy3CBlQxyF
— Donbass Devushka (@PeImeniPusha) February 7, 2023
In the same thread, Devushka highlights a separate tweet featuring a video originally posted by Ukrainian military blogger Yuriy Madyar that appears to reveal a stockpile of Ukrainian “chemical munitions” that would be deployed against Russian forces by drones.
“Ukranian ‘military blogger’ Yuriy Madyar posted a video showing chemical munitions and ‘hinted’ that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were preparing to use drone delivered chemical weapons [sic] in Bakhmut,” user @namelss_cynic wrote.
Ukrainian "military blogger" Yuriy Madyar posted a video showing chemical munitions and "hinted" that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were preparing to use drone delivered chemical weapons Bakhmut. #DefundUkraine pic.twitter.com/wORwiOuszA
— Nameless Cynic (@nameless_cynic) February 6, 2023
In another video in Devushka’s thread, men who appear to belong to the Ukrainian military can be observed configuring the drones and chemical weapons.
According to the user who posted the video, @rybar_en, the men in the video are part of an “air reconnaissance group” known as “Magyar’s Birds,” led by Ukranian military leader “Magyar,” Robert Iosifovich Brovdi.
“The footage shows Ukrainian fighters preparing small drones that are designed to drop very interesting homemade munitions, which are very likely to be equipped with chemical weapons,” Rybar wrote in a separate tweet.
Another confirmation emerged that some units of the AFU on the Bakhmut direction are using chemical weapons. The video was filmed, reportedly, by the commander of a separate air reconnaissance group called "Magyar's Birds".
[Yarem] pic.twitter.com/AQPyL2Xz1M— Rybar in English (@rybar_en) January 13, 2023
According to Rybar, the shell canisters observed in Magyar’s video appear to be homemade, 700 gram, thin-walled cylinders.
“The head fuse looks less like an accumulated detonation device and more like a device for mixing or atomizing chemicals,” wrote Rybar, who noted that the canister’s storage in a refrigerator likely indicates that they are chemical weapons being chilled to “prevent the thermal expansion of the substance, which would breach the shell’s hermetic seal. Ordinary shells are not stored in a refrigerator.”
The use of chemical weapons in is a practice that has been banned by the Geneva Convention and classified as a war crime.
If authenticated, this particular instance would not be the first time that the Ukrainian armed forces have been accused of committing crimes of war.
In April of 2022, the New York Times confirmed the authenticity of previous video showing Ukrainian soldiers brutally executing captured Russian soldiers.
Warning: Graphic Content Ahead
War crime – Ukrainian soldier executes wounded Russian on camera. Other dead Russian soldiers appear to have had their throats slit. One has his hands tied behind his back. pic.twitter.com/xZGWXb7KfC
— Totnan Klar (@totnan111) April 6, 2022
Ukrainian forces are seen on video executing Russian prisoners of war in an apparent war crime, the New York Times confirmed.
According to the New York Times report, a Ukrainian news agency said the culprits were a part of the “Georgian Legion” volunteer group that began fighting for Ukraine in 2014.
A video posted online on Monday and verified by The New York Times appears to show a group of Ukrainian soldiers killing captured Russian troops outside a village west of Kyiv. https://t.co/Wog3JdR8l7
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 6, 2022
The killings apparently took place nearly seven miles southwest of Bucha, where mainstream media outlets, in lockstep with both western and Ukrainian governments have accused Russia of killing 300 civilians in an apparent series of “war crimes.”
The Ukrainian and U.S. governments insist that the Bucha civilians were killed as Russian troops were retreating the suburb. However, the Russians claim that the killings occurred days after their forces had left the area.
Users online have pointed out that the dead civilians in Bucha were seen wearing pro-Russian white armbands, similarly to the Russian prisoners of war executed by the Ukrainian forces in the NYT-confirmed video.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022 following a years long standoff over the disputed Donbass region. Russia claims it launched a “special military operation” to protect ethnic Russians from Ukrainian ethnic cleansing, but Ukraine claims the invasion was unprovoked.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @whiteaf5.
