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Russian Troops Caught Off Guard as Ukraine Blows Up Chemical Loaded Grad Rocket System, Video
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Ukrainian troops have destroyed a Russian BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system that was reportedly loaded with chemical munitions, according to Ukraine’s K-2 military unit on June 17.
The MLRS was struck in the Donetsk region while the Russian crew was preparing to fire. The operation involved pilots from three different Armed Forces units who successfully targeted and destroyed the launcher before it could launch its salvo.
“In intercepted radio chatter, Russian troops could be heard warning each other to take cover and put on gas masks, as the destroyed Grad was ‘loaded with chemicals,’” the K-2 unit reported.
The unit further stated that, according to those same intercepted communications, the launcher was armed with shells containing chemical poisoning agents.
While the use of chemical weapons is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)—a treaty to which Russia is a formal signatory—Ukrainian forces warn that the Kremlin may be willing to breach these obligations. Intelligence suggests that Russia maintains significant chemical weapons stockpiles despite officially claiming to have destroyed them.
Assessing Russia’s actual chemical weapons capability remains difficult. During the Soviet era, Moscow consistently denied having any chemical munitions, accusing NATO of developing chemical weaponry.
After the USSR collapsed, Russia continued the charade by claiming it was dismantling its stockpiles—yet multiple incidents since 2014 suggest that chemical agents have been used sporadically against Ukraine.
“In reality, chemical warfare agents have been used intermittently against Ukraine for a long time,” K-2 noted. “However, the full extent of Russia’s capabilities and arsenal remains unknown.”
Earlier, reports emerged the European Union was preparing a new round of sanctions that will, for the first time, formally accuse Russia of using chemical weapons in its war against Ukraine.
