Radio Liberty’s project Skhemy (Schemes) writes that among the Russian military formations employing the latest RG-Vo gas grenades against Ukrainian forces are two motorised rifle brigades, separate UAV units, and the Russian National Guard.

Source:Radio Liberty’s project Skhemy

Details: Journalists have discovered which Russian military units have the latest RG-Vo gas grenades in their arsenal and are using them against Ukrainian troops, in violation of international agreements prohibiting the use of chemical weapons, as well as the laws and customs of war.

One example is the 114th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade. Its soldiers dropped chemical grenades on the shelters of Ukrainian soldiers, according to a video broadcast on Russian state television on 28 May 2024. It stated that during this chemical attack, the unit's assault troops allegedly killed 17 and wounded 35 Ukrainian soldiers.

Investigative journalists have established that the 136th Motorised Rifle Brigade may also be using chemical grenades that are banned on the battlefield. This is evident from correspondence in which Russian servicemen reported using RG-Vo gas grenades and ordering additional batches in the spring and summer of 2025.

Information about this communication on the Vovchansk and Kupiansk fronts was obtained by the Kharkiv Office of the Security Service of Ukraine through its spy networks.

Among the interlocutors who correspond under pseudonyms, Skhemy journalists identified Dmitry Novichikhin. He was the person that discussed the supply of chemical grenades with the Russian 136th Brigade.

In March 2022, Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported his affiliation with this unit. The agency noted that at the start of the full-scale war, he was 20 years old and served as a senior radio operator. From the context of his posts this year, it appears that he may now be a specialist in logistics, including chemical grenades.

As Skhemy has established, the Russian Guard may also use gas grenades that are prohibited by the laws and customs of war. Information from Russian tax databases shows that the Institute of Applied Chemistry, which manufactures RG-Vo gas grenades, is a long-standing supplier to the Russian Guard. In October 2023, the unit's press service published a video showing one of its servicemen using thermite-incendiary grenades similar to the chemical RG-Vo grenades from the same manufacturer, the Institute of Applied Chemistry.

Journalists name another unit that may have received RG-Vo grenades from this manufacturer – the Central Military Chemical Training Ground in Saratov Oblast, also known as military unit 42734. This was established by the Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine. A photograph of boxes of gas grenades and customs data indicate that the Institute of Applied Chemistry sent this shipment to the training ground near Saratov at the request of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

The Skhemy investigation, citing SSU data, states that RG-Vo gas grenades are being transferred to unmanned systems units fighting against Ukraine, in particular through this military unit.

The Skhemy investigation also revealed that Russian arms manufacturer Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry receives components for RG-Vo chemical grenades, which are prohibited under international law, from two Russian companies, which, despite their cooperation with a sanctioned defence company, are themselves not yet subject to Western economic restrictions.

For reference : The use of toxic chemicals is prohibited not only by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Chemical Weapons, which Russia has signed, but also by the Geneva Convention. However, the Ukrainian military has repeatedly reported the use of chemical weapons by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian forces.

Background :

• In May 2025, the European Union imposed sanctions on three Russian military units involved in the development and use of chemical weapons.
• In July, Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, said that Russia was stepping up its use of chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine in an attempt to force the country to surrender.

Read also: Russia began using chemical weapons back in 2014–2015, says Anton Honchar, Chief Specialist of the Ukrainian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces  

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