Amid Russia using chemical weapons Ukraine calls for new instruments to implement Geneva Protocol

This was stated by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on X, Ukrinform reports.

He noted that June 17 marks the 100th anniversary of the Protocol on the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare. The document established an international legal ban on chemical and biological weapons, demonstrating a global consensus on the inadmissibility of weapons of mass destruction.

“Unfortunately, a century later, Russia continues to undermine this consensus. Between February 2023 and May 2025, Russian occupying forces used 9,388 munitions containing hazardous chemicals. A total of 2,509 Ukrainian service members sought medical assistance for chemical exposure symptoms of varying severity,” the Foreign Minister stressed.

Sybiha warned that Russia’s disregard for international norms, as well as its use of chemical and other proscribed hazardous substances in Ukraine and other countries, requires a strong response from the international community.

“The perpetrators of such crimes must face justice. Russia, as a state, must be held accountable. International law must be law, not a declaration. And it is up to the international community to make everyone uphold it,” the minister added.

Sybiha finally called for the creation of new tools to ensure the implementation of such fundamental documents and punish those who violate them. According to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, this is the only way to put an end to such crimes and ensure that they never repeat again.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukrainian intelligence intercepted a communication, hearing a Russian army commander order the use of proscribed chemical weapons to attack the positions of Ukrainian defenders.

Photo: mil.in.ua