Gasping for air from a trench in eastern Ukraine, an infantryman was ready for the worst when a suffocating white smoke spread into his position.

A Russian drone had just dropped a gas grenade into the trench, an internationally banned practice in warfare used to suffocate Ukrainian soldiers hiding inside. Forced out in the open, the Ukrainians immediately became vulnerable targets for Russian drones and artillery.

. . .

Russia has increasingly deployed chemical agents in its grand offensive to occupy the last cities in the Donbas region under Ukrainian control. The suffocation tactic is to take out entrenched personnel and dampen the morale of Ukrainian soldiers who – severely outmanned and outgunned – have been withdrawing village by village in the east for nearly a year.

MBFC
Archive

  • Display name
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    16 days ago

    No, that is on the contrary very much an allowed thing to do?

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      15 days ago

      It is not allowed by the US. It is not disallowed by international war crime agreements, but that doesn’t make it allowed if something else is preventing it.

      • Display name
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        15 days ago

        Yes, and yeah? But it’s still allowed by international law. I don’t get what the prior was comment supposed to add. :S

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          15 days ago

          The US (and some others, but the US is the largest obviously) is telling Ukraine they can’t use foreign weapons to attack into Russian territory. They are not allowed to use the weapons in the way they see as most useful. Especially with Russia using chemical weapons, they should be given the go-ahead to do what they see fitting with them.