Russia ramps up chemical weapons use in Ukraine, European spies warn
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Russia ‘ramps up chemical attacks with WWI choking agent’ as Putin blitzes Kyiv
Moscow is using a ‘wide range of chemical weapons with increasing frequency and is not hesitating to employ more potent agents’, European spies have warned. Report was published after Moscow launched its largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine since the start of the war more than three years ago. Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said: “It is happening systematically and on a substantial scale. This is a sliding scale. It is completely unacceptable and shows once again what a brutal aggressor Ukraine is facing” The United States first accused Russia of using chloropicrin in May last year. At least 23 people were injured in the attacks on Kyiv, which forced thousands of residents to spend the night in shelters, including subway stations and underground parking lots. The attack came just hours after Donald Trump reported “no progress” toward a call for a ceasefire in Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown of Kramatorsk. The report comes as Russia escalates its drone and missiles barrages on Ukrainian cities.
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Russia is intensifying chemical weapons attacks including use of a deadly agent used during the First World War against Ukraine, according to an intelligence report.
The report was published after Moscow launched its largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine last night since the start of the war more than three years ago.
In a joint report released on Friday, the Dutch and German intelligence agencies warned of an increased use of chemical weapons by Moscow.
The agencies said Russia was “increasingly using a wide range of chemical weapons against Ukraine, and they do not shy away from using stronger substances such as chloropicrin”.
Chloropicrin, first used by Germany during the First World War, can be deadly in high concentrations within enclosed areas, causing severe irritation to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. If ingested, it can burn the mouth and stomach, and its use represents a severe breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans this asphyxiating agent under any conditions.
The United States first accused Russia of using chloropicrin in May last year.
Ukrainian emergency teams at work after Russia’s latest strike on Ukraine’s capital (Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty)
Ukraine alleges more than 9,000 instances of chemical weapons use by Russia since the start of the war.
The head of the Dutch military intelligence agency, Peter Reesink, said the conclusions followed “our own independent intelligence, so we have observed it ourselves based on our own investigations”.
“The main conclusion is that we can confirm Russia is intensifying its use of chemical weapons,” Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said.
“It is happening systematically and on a substantial scale. This is a sliding scale. It is completely unacceptable and shows once again what a brutal aggressor Ukraine is facing.”
Brekelmans said the agencies were making the report public now, “because the Russian use of chemical weapons must not be normalised”.
“If the threshold for this use of these types of weapons is lowered, this is not only dangerous for Ukraine but also for the rest of Europe and the world,” he said, and called for “more sanctions, isolation of Russia, and undiminished military support for Ukraine”.
Kyiv residents forced to take cover in metro stations during Russia’s latest strikes (Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty)
Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency confirmed the findings.
Referencing data from the Ukrainian defence ministry, the report said Russia has carried out more than 9,000 chemical weapons attacks on Ukrainian service members since the start of the war. At least three deaths have been directly linked to the use chemical weapons.
According to the report, Russian use of chemical weapons has indirectly caused numerous additional casualties, as many Ukrainian soldiers were forced out of their shelters by these agents and then killed with conventional munitions.
The i Paper has not been able to independently verify the use of banned chemical substances by either side in the Ukraine war.
The report comes as Russia escalates its drone and missile barrages on Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 476 of a record 539 Russian drones overnight into Friday, adding that Russia also launched 11 cruise and ballistic missiles. Ukraine said the capital, Kyiv, was the primary target of the attack, but strikes were also reported in the Dnipro, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions.
At least 23 people were injured in the attacks on Kyiv, which forced thousands of residents to spend the night in shelters, including subway stations and underground parking lots, as explosions continued into the early hours of Friday morning.
No progress towards ceasefire
The attack came just hours after Donald Trump reported “no progress” toward a ceasefire in a call with Vladimir Putin, and ahead of a separate conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday for nearly an hour and later expressed frustration over the lack of progress towards a ceasefire.
“We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine,” Trump said. “I’m not happy about that.”
Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were severely damaged in Russian attacks across Ukraine overnight into Friday (Photo: Ivan Antypenko/Global Images Ukraine/Getty)
When asked whether he made any headway with Putin on a deal regarding Ukraine, Trump responded bluntly, “No”, and added, “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said: “Absolutely horrible and sleepless night in Kyiv. One of the worst so far. Hundreds of Russian drones and ballistic missiles rained down on the Ukrainian capital. Right after Putin spoke with President Trump. And he does it on purpose.
“Every criminal regime in the world is now watching closely Putin’s actions and responses to them. If he gets away with all of this, everyone will get a very clear message,” he added.
Later when Trump spoke with Zelensky on Friday, they discussed air defence weapons and Russia’s escalating strikes, according to an Axios report.
US weapons pause ‘ordered by Hegseth’
The calls with Putin and Zelensky followed a decision by Washington to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine over what US officials claimed was because of low stockpiles.
However, on Friday, a report said the decision was a unilateral step by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and analysis by senior military officers found that the weapons would not jeopardise US supplies.
Citing three congressional aides and a former US official familiar with the matter, NBC News added that Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy, backed the move.
The halt blindsided the State Department, members of Congress, officials in Kyiv and European allies, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, the report added.
This would be the third time since February that Hegseth on his own has stopped shipments of aid to Ukraine, sources said, with his previous halts being reversed days later.
Kyiv has warned the move will weaken its ability to defend against intensifying attacks by Russia. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defence systems to bridge the gap.
Don’t go to Russia’s WWII victory day celebrations, EU warns European leaders
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has extended invitations to the leaders of China, India and Brazil. Kaja Kallas warned European leaders on Monday against participating in Moscow’s military celebrations on May 9.
The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas warned European leaders on Monday against participating in Moscow’s military celebrations on May 9, inviting them to show solidarity with Ukraine instead.
According to Russian media, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has extended invitations to the leaders of China, India and Brazil — as well as to EU country Slovakia and to Serbia, which aspires to join the 27-member bloc.
“What was also discussed very clearly, and said by different member states, is that any participation in the 9th May parades or celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe,” Kallas told journalists in Luxembourg after a gathering of foreign ministers.
Russia could send “little green men” to test NATO’s resolve, German intelligence boss warns
Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said his agency had clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defence obligations enshrined in the NATO treaty no longer had practical force. “We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward,” Kahl told Table Media in a podcast interview. Germany, already the second-largest provider of armaments and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, has pledged to step up its support further under the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
BERLIN, June 9 (Reuters) – Russia is determined to test the resolve of the NATO alliance, including by extending its confrontation with the West beyond the borders of Ukraine, the Germany’s foreign intelligence chief told the Table Media news organization.
Bruno Kahl, head of the Federal Intelligence Service, said his agency had clear intelligence indications that Russian officials believed the collective defence obligations enshrined in the NATO treaty no longer had practical force.
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“We are quite certain, and we have intelligence showing it, that Ukraine is only a step on the journey westward,” Kahl told Table Media in a podcast interview.
“That doesn’t mean we expect tank armies to roll westwards,” he added. “But we see that NATO’s collective defence promise is to be tested.”
Germany, already the second-largest provider of armaments and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, has pledged to step up its support further under the new government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, promising to help Ukraine develop new missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory.
Without detailing the nature of his intelligence sources, Kahl said Russian officials were envisaging confrontations that fell short of a full military engagement that would test whether the U.S. would really live up to its mutual aid obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
“They don’t need to dispatch armies of tanks for that,” he said. “It’s enough to send little green men to Estonia to protect supposedly oppressed Russian minorities.”
Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea involved occupation of buildings and offices by Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms and civilian clothes, who came to be known as the “little green men” when Moscow initially denied their identity.
Kahl did not specify which officials in Moscow were thinking along these lines.
Merz, who visited Donald Trump in Washington last week, pushed back against the U.S. president’s assertion that Ukraine and Russia were like two infants fighting, telling Trump that where Ukraine targeted Moscow’s military, Russia bombed Ukraine’s cities.
Kahl said his contacts with U.S. counterparts had left him convinced they took the Russian threat seriously.
“They take it as seriously as us, thank God,” he said.
Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Deepa Babington
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Ukraine war latest: Putin ‘mocking Trump’s peace efforts’, Poland says – as Zelenskyy slams ‘cynical’ Russian attack
Ukraine’s air force says 550 drones and missiles were fired at the country. All-night attack injured at least 23 people and damaged railway infrastructure. Kremlin says diplomatic end to the war “does not appear possible” at the moment. Latest prisoner swap goes ahead, with most captured during first year of war. We’re pausing our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll be back with any breaking news. Until then, here’s a rundown of what’s happened during the last 24 hours…
Huge overnight attacks
Russia launched its biggest overnight aerial attack of the war so far, with Ukraine’s air force saying a combined 550 drones and missiles were fired at the country.
Kyiv was under an all-night attack, injuring at least 23 people, damaging railway infrastructure and sparking fires across Ukraine’s capital, authorities said.
Russia said its forces successfully carried out strikes against military targets in the city.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the “cynical” attack began “almost simultaneously” with the start of yesterday’s phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin responds to Trump comments
Trump described his call with Putin as “disappointing,” adding that he did not believe the Russian leader wanted to end the war.
The Kremlin effectively confirmed that this morning, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that a diplomatic end to the war “does not appear possible” at the moment.
He added that Moscow was still waiting to coordinate the dates for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine.
Latest prisoner swap goes ahead
At the last round of talks, Ukraine and Russia agreed to several rounds of prisoner swaps, the latest of which happened today.
Zelenskyy said most of the prisoners who were returned to Ukraine today had been captured during the first year of the war.
In other news…
US arms stoppage to Ukraine ‘serious setback’ for EU and NATO, Danish PM says
Denmark is one of Ukraine’s strongest backers, having contributed nearly €10 billion in military and civilian support since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. Frederiksen’s comments come after the White House confirmed earlier this week that the U.S. would stop sending air defense missiles and some precision munitions to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is counting on the “continuation of American support,” but noted there are some items that Europe can’t immediately replace.
Denmark is one of Ukraine’s strongest backers, having contributed nearly €10 billion in military and civilian support since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, and Frederiksen has been one of the loudest voices in the EU calling to maintain the pressure on Russia.
“If there are any gaps [left by the U.S.], I personally believe that we should be willing to fill them,” she added.
Speaking minutes later at a separate press conference alongside Frederiksen and von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is counting on the “continuation of American support,” but noted there are some items — namely Patriot missiles that Ukraine uses to shoot down Russian drones and missiles — that Europe can’t immediately replace.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s planned Thursday conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said Moscow had failed to abide by the terms of a ceasefire and noted he would be speaking with Trump in the coming days.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow had failed to abide by the terms of a ceasefire and noted he would be speaking with Donald Trump in the coming days. | Julien Warnand/EPA
Pressed on what kind of support the EU would be able to give Ukraine, the bloc’s top two officials — European Council President António Costa and von der Leyen — stressed that Brussels remains fully committed to backing Kyiv, and noted that EU countries had provided €24 billion in total military aid for Ukraine so far this year, including 2 million artillery shells.
While that amount is larger than the U.S. contribution, it is substantially less than what the U.S. and Europe were able to muster jointly before Washington wound down its aid to Kyiv.