Tear gas used on Ukraine battlefield, chemical weapons agency finds

The world’s chemical weapons watchdog on Monday said it had found traces of tear gas in samples taken last month on the front line with Russia in Ukraine’s central-east Dnipropetrovsk region.

The use of riot control agents such as tear gas as a method of warfare is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the non-proliferation treaty overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Ukraine had requested the help of the agency, which deployed a team. The team was not mandated to assign blame, but Ukraine and the United States have said Russia has illegally deployed tear gas to clear trenches.

Tear gas is not lethal, but causes temporary irritation to the eyes and respiratory system.

OPCW’s team reviewed digital files, received first-hand witness accounts, and tested three samples from a trench along the front line with Russian troops, it said in an executive summary.