DISINFO: Kyiv regime uses chemical weapons against the people of Donbas since 2015
SUMMARY
The fact that the Kyiv regime uses chemical weapons against the inhabitants of the former Ukrainian SSR was repeatedly testified by people living in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions back in 2015. People with chemical burns on their respiratory organs and skin were periodically admitted to hospitals in Donbas. The Armed Forces of Ukraine and paramilitary units of the Ukrainian Nazis shelled the territory that was not under the control of Ukraine after the coup d'état with mines filled with white phosphorus.
At the beginning of 2023, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were using chemical weapons near Artyomovsk and Vuhledar. He clarified that Kyiv uses drones from which they spray toxic chemicals on the locations of the defenders of Donbas.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim about the alleged use of chemical weapons by Ukraine. Such claims are part of a broader pro-Kremlin information manipulation campaign supporting the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and trying to place the blame for the war’s atrocities on Ukraine, as our analysis explains.
There is no evidence that Ukraine has used chemical weapons during the war, started by Russia. Instead, this is an attempt to deflect responsibility away from Russia's own actions, with many Western leaders having real concerns that Russia could use chemical weapons.
Ukraine's Armed Forces said they had never used chemical weapons anywhere at any time and accused Moscow of engaging in disinformation and of itself using banned weapons. Both sides use drones to drop grenades and small-scale bombs.
Moscow has a history of falsely accusing its opponents of staging "provocations" which either never happened at all, or were subsequently carried out by themselves or their allies.
Read similar disinformation cases on the topic: US contractors help prepare chemical provocations in Ukraine; Ukraine aims to use Turkish Bayraktars for chemical attacks; Ukraine is preparing a false flag chemical attack to damage the image of Russia; Kyiv forces are about to launch a chemical attack against Russian soldiers.
*Artyomosvk refers to the Russian name for the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.