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UK arms Ukraine against chemical weapons as Russia revives World War I tactics on eastern front
The UK has provided critical support to Ukraine in the fight against Russian chemical weapons. London has made a voluntary contribution of £400,000 to support the activities of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Ukraine.
In June 2025, Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former UK CBRN commander, warned that Russia’s war in Ukraine increasingly resembles World War I trench warfare, both in casualty levels and chemical weapon tactics. He cited Dutch government claims of thousands of Russian chemical attacks, including chlorine and CS gas, used to break battlefield stalemates, much like Germany’s gas attacks during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.
These funds will be used to supply Ukraine with specialized equipment, training, expert, logistical, and technical assistance to strengthen the country’s resilience against chemical weapons threats.
An OPCW report previously confirmed the presence of the toxic substance 2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS gas) in seven samples collected in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
CS is a tear gas banned for use in war under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Nevertheless, Russia resorts to this type of weaponry.
The UK has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention came into force in 1997. Overall, the country has already contributed £950,000 to the Ukraine assistance project through the OPCW fund.
Through this fund, the organization provides technical support to Ukraine, including deployments of technical experts, supplying protective, detection, and identification equipment, and training Ukrainian specialists and first responders.
Earlier, an environmental expert said that Russian attacks and fires they cause release large amounts of toxic substances entering the air and soil, many of which are carcinogenic and mutagenic.
These include nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzopyrene, and vapors of sulfuric and hydrocyanic acid. They are extremely dangerous for people, especially children.
