How Would Russia Employ Chemical Warfare and What Agents Would Be Involved?

Image above from Global Challenges Foundation

Multiple warnings from international leaders have suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Russian troops may soon engage in chemical warfare with Ukraine.

But details are slim.

Here, therefore are some possibilities on how Putin could carry this out.

Direct release of chemical weapons

There are multiple compounds that can cause severe harm upon exposure. Some examples include those classified as:

• Nerve agents – affecting the nervous system such as Sarin gas and VX
• Blistering agents (vesicants) – causing severe irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract, seen with exposure to Mustard gas and Lewisite (containing arsenic)
• Choking agents – affecting the respiratory system (causing pulmonary edema) making it difficult to breathe, such as with chlorine and phosgene 
• Blood agents – affecting tissues in the body from utilizing oxygen or performing their vital functions, such as with Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and cyanogen chloride (CNCl)
• and more…. including Bioweapons.

According to the Arms Control Association, these chemicals could be directly released by means of ballistic missiles, air-dropped gravity bombs, rockets, artillery shells, aerosol canisters, land mines, and mortars.

Contamination

Introduction of any of the above into a society’s food or water supply could also be a risk of chemical warfare.

But there are additional ways to “contaminate” and expose others to hazardous chemicals.

Indirectly, chemical warfare can ensue if locations storing toxic material lose their protective measures and their waste leaks.

According to New Scientist:

“In Donbas alone, there are 4000 potentially hazardous sites in or near urbanised areas,” says Zwijnenburg (Sumy Regional Governor). “Some of these locations include abandoned coal mines storing radioactive and toxic waste. To keep the locations safe, groundwater has to be pumped out to prevent these mines from flooding, yet damage to power plants and electricity networks could stop the water pumping systems, and flood these mines.”

Moreover, the threat of nuclear contamination exists if power outages and generator shutdowns prevent the stability of nuclear material at stations such as Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhya.

But even a bigger threat exists directly…….

Destruction of facilities or storage sites with hazardous chemicals

Reportedly there are tens of thousands of sites containing hazardous compounds that could be directly attacked resulting in leaks and mass exposures.

This week residents of the northern Ukrainian town of Novoselytsya were told to seek shelter when shelling by Russian forces caused an ammonia leak at a nearby chemical factory.

The Guardian reports:

Sumy regional governor, Dmytro Zhyvytskyiy, said the leak was reported at 4.30am local time at the Sumykhimprom plant in an update posted to his official Telegram on Monday morning.

…..He said the area within a 2.5km radius around the plant was hazardous, adding that residents should seek refuge in shelters and basements for protection while describing ammonia as a “colourless gas with a pungent suffocating odour”.

Hence whether the Russian army directly drops or shoots weapons with chemical agents, prevents preventive measures to protect against toxic leakage, or attacks sites with hazardous materials, there are tragically multiple ways Putin can employ chemical warfare.

Daliah Wachs, MD, FAAFP is a nationally syndicated radio personality on GCN Network, KDWN, iHeart Radio and is a Board Certified Family Physician

@DrDaliah