JAKARTA – Dutch and German intelligence agencies have gathered evidence of Russia’s widespread use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, including dropping the strangulation of drones to get soldiers out of the ditch so they can be shot, they said on Friday.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.

“The main conclusion is, we can confirm that Russia is intensifying the use of its chemical weapons,” he told Reuters.

“This intensification is worrying because it is part of the trend we have observed over the past few years, where the use of chemical weapons by Russia in this war has become more normal, standardized, and widespread,” he explained.

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency BND confirmed the findings, saying in a statement they had obtained the evidence along with partners from the Netherlands. Reuters was the first to report the intelligence.

Meanwhile, Head of the Dutch Military Intelligence Agency (MIVD) Peter Reesink, said the conclusion followed “our own independent intelligence, so we have observed it ourselves based on our own investigations.”

Reuters has not been able to independently verify the use of banned chemicals by both sides in Ukraine’s war.

At least three deaths in Ukraine were linked to the use of chemical weapons, Defense Minister said Brekelmans, while more than 2,500 people injured on the battlefield reported symptoms of chemical weapons-related symptoms to Ukrainian health authorities.

Russia’s increasing use of chemical weapons poses a threat not only to Ukraine but also to other countries, he added.

“We have to increase the pressure. This means considering more sanctions and in particular not allowing them (Russia) to participate in international agencies such as the OPCW Executive Council (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons),” he said.

The United States first accused Russia of using chloropicrine, a more toxic chemical compound than a riot control agent and was first used by Germany during the First World War, in May last year. Ukraine accuses Russia of using thousands of examples of chemical weapons.

Russia’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the article.

Russia itself has denied using illegal ammunition and accused Ukraine of doing so.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday the Federal Security Service found a warehouse for Ukrainian explosives in the eastern part of the country containing chloropicrines.

Ukraine has consistently denied the allegations. The Hague-based OPCW, which consists of 193 countries, last year, said the initial accusations made by the two countries against each other were “insufficient”.

The OPCW has not yet been asked to carry out a full investigation, which member states must begin with.

Meanwhile, Reesink spoke of “a thousand examples” of the use of chemical weapons, while also citing Ukraine’s figure of 9,000.

The intelligence results were delivered in a letter to the Dutch Parliament on Friday.

Russia is a member of the OPCW and, like the United States, has destroyed the supply of chemical weapons it states.

The Dutch military and general intelligence agencies, in collaboration with foreign partners, said they had found concrete evidence of increased production of Russian chemical weapons.

“This includes improving the research and recruitment capabilities of scientists for the development of chemical weapons,” Reesink said.

He added that Russian officials had given instructions to soldiers about the use of toxic war agents.

“This is not just a temporary improvement on the front lines; it’s really part of a large-scale program. And that’s, of course, also worrying because if we don’t clarify and publish what Russia is doing, it’s likely that this trend will continue,” Reesink explained.

He called the use of chemical weapons by the Russian armed forces a “almost standalone operating procedure.”

“We specifically attribute the use of chloroprine to homemade ammunition, such as filled light balls and empty bottles suspended on unmanned aircraft. Regarding tear gas, we see them also abusing and changing existing ammunition to act as gas carriers,” he said.

It is known that Chloroprin is listed as a strangulation substance prohibited by the OPCW, which was created to implement and monitor compliance with the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

This substance can cause severe irritation of the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. If ingested, this substance can cause burns to the mouth and abdomen, nausea and vomiting, and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.

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Donald Trump spoke with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday as the US president appears increasingly disheartened over his chances of fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The call with Zelenskyy comes as Washington has halted its latest shipment of military aid to Ukraine including Patriot air defense missiles and other crucial munitions meant to support the country’s defenses.

Zelenskyy was expected to urge Trump to release the shipment of aid to Ukraine, although it was not immediately clear if he was successful. The call was first reported by Axios, which was told by a source that it was a “good conversation”.

Trump said he was “very disappointed” after a telephone call with Vladimir Putin on Thursday. A Putin aide told reporters that the Russian president was not willing to make concessions on what the Kremlin has called the “root causes” of the war with Ukraine, a list of grievances that includes Nato expansion and Ukraine’s desire to join western economic and security blocs.

“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there,” Trump told reporters after holding a rally in Iowa on Thursday evening. “I don’t think he’s there, and I’m very disappointed. I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.”

The US has said that it halted the shipments, some of which were already in Poland, due to a review of US military stockpiles that suggested that the country is running low on munitions for its own troops.

Germany has said that it is in “intensive talks” to buy the Patriot missiles for Ukraine, although it’s unclear whether those stocks would be available immediately.

“There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap,” a German government spokesperson told a news conference in Berlin on Friday. One option being considered was for the German government to buy the Patriot missile batteries in the United States and then send them to Ukraine.

“I can confirm that intensive discussions are indeed being held on this matter,” the spokesperson said.

The shortage of Patriot missiles was further highlighted by a record bombardment of Ukraine in which Russia sent more than 550 drones and ballistic missiles at major cities in what Zelenskyy described as a “deliberate act of terror”.

The strike immediately followed the call between Putin and Trump, Zelenskyy said, and was a “clear interpretation of how Moscow interprets diplomacy”.

Representational

The Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) and the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) have jointly warned of a growing use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine, marking what they describe as a serious breach of international law.

According to a statement delivered to the Dutch Lower House by Minister Ruben Brekelmans on July 4, Russian forces are no longer limiting themselves to tear gas but are now systematically deploying more dangerous substances, including chloropicrin — a chemical agent banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention due to its lethal effects in enclosed areas.

“This is a sliding scale. It is completely unacceptable and shows once again what a brutal aggressor Ukraine is facing,” said Brekelmans. “If the threshold for using these weapons is lowered, it endangers not just Ukraine but the rest of Europe and the world.”

The findings, confirmed alongside Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), point to an escalation in Russia’s chemical warfare tactics. Chloropicrin, once used as a chemical weapon during World War I, is now reportedly a standard part of Russia’s battlefield arsenal, according to the intelligence services.

Vice Admiral Peter Reesink, Director of MIVD, said, “It shows that Russia is intensifying its use of chemical weapons. At the same time, we see that Russia is deploying these types of weapons with increasing ease.”

Ukrainian authorities report over 9,000 chemical attacks on their armed forces since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. At least three deaths have been directly linked to chemical exposure, with additional fatalities resulting from troops being forced out of shelters and exposed to conventional attacks.

The intelligence services also noted that the Russian Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces have been directly involved in facilitating the use of chemical agents. The production and research of chemical weapons in Russia is reportedly increasing, with new personnel being recruited to support the program.

Minister Brekelmans has called for stronger international sanctions, greater diplomatic isolation of Russia, and continued military aid to Ukraine, warning that normalizing chemical warfare would set a dangerous precedent globally.

Chloropicrin causes severe lung damage and can be lethal in confined spaces. Its use forces soldiers from shelters, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Tear gas, though considered non-lethal, causes intense pain, choking, and disorientation—and is also banned in war zones.

Russia denies using the weapons, as does Ukraine; International body says previous accusations not “substantiated.”

Russia has intensified its use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers in a serious violation of international law, the Dutch and German intelligence agencies have said.

On Friday, they said there was extensive evidence that Moscow’s forces were using banned products, including the choking agent chloropicrin.

Russia denies using the prohibited weapons, as does Ukraine. On Wednesday, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, claimed that the Federal Security Service found a cache of Ukrainian weapons in the east of the country containing chloropicrin.

“It is normalised and widespread. Chloropicrin is dropped by drones to drive soldiers out of trenches, and then kill them,” Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said in a post on X, referring to Russia’s purported use.

Brekelmans, who is now calling for tougher sanctions against Russia, described the use of chemical weapons as “horrible and unacceptable”.

Peter Reesink, the head of the Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), confirmed that the findings were based on its own investigations. There were “thousands of instances” of chemical weapons use by Russia, he said.

“This isn’t just some ad hoc tinkering at the front line; it is truly part of a large-scale programme. And that is, of course, also concerning because if we don’t clarify and publicise what Russia is doing, it’s highly likely these trends will continue,” Reesink added.

Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency also corroborated the MIVD’s conclusions.

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The Russian army was using tear gas as well as “the more dangerous chemical chloropicrin, which can be lethal in high concentrations in enclosed spaces” in Ukraine, the BND said in a statement.

“This represents a more serious violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of this lung warfare agent under all circumstances,” it noted.

Speaking to Reuters about the Dutch and German intelligence reports, Brekelmans, the Dutch defence minister, said that at least three Ukrainian deaths had been linked to Russian chemical weapons, with more than 2,500 people reporting symptoms related to the banned products.

More needed to be done to deter Russia from deploying such weapons, he suggested.

“We must further increase the pressure. This means looking at more sanctions and specifically not allowing them (Russia) to participate in international bodies like the Executive Council of the OPCW (the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons),” Brekelmans said.

The OPCW said last year that Russian and Ukrainian accusations that the other side was using banned weapons were “insufficiently substantiated”.

The disarmament agency, which is based in The Hague and has 193 member states, has not conducted a full investigation, something which can only happen at the request of member states.

Fighting grinds on

The allegations of increased Russian chemical weapons use came as Ukraine reported the largest ever Russian drone and missile attack on the country.

A Ukrainian air force official told local media it is the biggest of the war so far, with Moscow firing 539 drones and 11 missiles overnight.

The attacks on Kyiv injured at least 23 people, damaging railway infrastructure and setting buildings and cars on fire, authorities said.

A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Rostov region killed at least one woman and forced the evacuation of dozens of people from their homes, the acting governor said.

In the meantime, on Friday, both countries confirmed that they had carried out their latest prisoner exchange, with neither side giving details about the number of soldiers involved.

The swap followed an agreement made in the Turkish capital, Istanbul, in June.

On the diplomatic front, United States President Donald Trump said he had made no progress, expressing his “disappointment”, during his phone call on Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who reportedly reiterated he would stop his invasion only if the conflict’s “root causes” were tackled.

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Trump also said he was planning to discuss the conflict with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. Zelenskyy said he hoped to speak with Trump about the supply of US weapons to Ukraine.

The US said on Tuesday that it was halting some weapons deliveries to Kyiv that were promised under the Biden administration, as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine.

The Biden administration-era pledges, which included various munitions to bolster Ukraine’s defences, are now under review as the Pentagon reassesses current inventory levels. The move could signal a shift in priorities under Trump, who has pressed for a more restrained global military posture.

Missiles for Patriot air defence systems and Hellfire missiles are among weapons being held back, according to US media.

Putin and Trump did not discuss the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

An OHCHR spokesperson says the figure is as of June 27, adding that more incidents have taken place since then.

The United Nations human rights office has said it recorded at least 613 killings of Palestinians, both at controversial aid points run by the Israeli and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys.

“This is a figure as of June 27. Since then … there have been further incidents,” Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

The OHCHR said 509 of the 613 people were killed near GHF distribution points. The Gaza Health Ministry has put the number of deaths at more than 650 and those wounded as exceeding 4,000.

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The GHF began distributing limited food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the UN says is neither impartial nor neutral, as killings continue around the organisation’s sites, which rights groups have slammed as “human slaughterhouses”.

Mahmoud Basal, a civil defence spokesperson in Gaza, said they “recorded evidence of civilians being deliberately killed by the Israeli military”.

“More than 600 Palestinian civilians were killed at these centres,” he said. “Some were shot by Israeli snipers, others were killed by drone attacks, air strikes or shootings targeting families seeking aid.”

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Medical sources have told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces have killed 41 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn on Friday.

In Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Israeli military killed at least 15 Palestinians following a series of deadly attacks on makeshift tents in the al-Mawasi coastal area, which was once classified as a so-called humanitarian safe zone by Israel. Attacks there have been relentless.

The Israeli army also issued new forced displacement threats for several areas of Khan Younis. The warnings for parts in the city’s east and centre include the area where the Nasser Hospital is located.

‘I lost everything’

A mother, whose son was killed while trying to get food, told Al Jazeera that she “lost everything” after his death.

“My son was a provider, I depended totally on him,” she said, adding: “He was the pillar and foundation of our life.”

The woman called the GHF’s aid distribution centres “death traps”.

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“We are forced to go there out of desperation for food; we go there out of hunger,” she said.

“Instead of coming back carrying a bag of flour, people themselves are being carried back as bodies,” she added.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is operating as “one massive trauma ward” due to an influx of patients injured around GHF sites.

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Referring to medical staff at the hospital, Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, told reporters in Geneva: “They’ve seen already for weeks, daily injuries … (the) majority coming from the so-called safe non-UN food distribution sites.”

Peeperkorn said health workers at Nasser Hospital and testimonies from family members and friends of those wounded confirmed that the victims had been trying to access aid at sites run by the GHF.

He recounted the harrowing cases of a 13-year-old boy shot in the head, as well as a 21-year-old with a bullet lodged in his neck, which rendered him a paraplegic.

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According to the UN, only 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, their collective capacity merely above 1,800 beds – entirely insufficient for the overwhelming medical needs.

The Israeli army has targeted the health institutions and medical workers in the besieged enclave since the beginning of its war on Gaza in October 2023.

“The health sector is being systematically dismantled,” Peeperkorn said on Thursday in a separate statement, citing shortages of medical supplies, equipment and personnel.

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GHF condemned

The UN, humanitarian organisations and other NGOs have repeatedly slammed the GHF for its handling of aid distribution and the attacks around its distribution sites.

More than 130 humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International, on Tuesday demanded the immediate closure of the GHF, accusing it of facilitating attacks on starving Palestinians.

The NGOs said Israeli forces and armed groups “routinely” open fire on civilians attempting to access food.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which was carrying out aid distribution for decades before the GHF, has called for investigations into the killings and wounding of Palestinians trying to access food through the GHF.

UNRWA noted that while it operated about 400 sites across the territory, the GHF has set up only four “mega-sites”, three in the south and one in central Gaza – none in the north, where conditions are the most severe.

The GHF has denied that incidents surrounding people killed or wounded at its sites have occurred involving its contractors, without providing any evidence, rejecting an investigation by The Associated Press that said some of its United States staff fired indiscriminately at Palestinians.

A recent report from Israeli outlet Haaretz detailed Israeli soldiers, in their words, confirming that Israeli troops have deliberately shot at unarmed Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza after being “ordered” to do so by their commanders.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, while displacing most of the population of more than two million multiple times, triggering widespread hunger through a punishing blockade and leaving much of the territory in ruins.

The war began after Hamas-led fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 captives back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.