Russian social media channels have been flooded with videos of troops preparing for nuclear and chemical attacks, as Vladimir Putin continues to threaten the West.
Footage shared on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, seen by the Express, shows soldiers pulling on gas masks and plumes of smoke coming from military vehicles.
Russian language text accompanying the videos claims they show the “November 13 – Day of radiation, chemical and biological defence troops.”
According to Telegram messages, the special unit’s preparations involved “camouflage of troops and equipment” with flamethrowers and thermobaric weapons.
It adds that the unit’s work continued in an “endless list” of areas, including Syria, Chernobyl, Zaporizhzhia and Kursk.
Ex-British Army officer and chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon pointed out that this type of warfare was not new in Ukraine, but it was a feature of the conflict which was often critically overlooked.
“Putin still using [chemical weapons] on a daily basis and the Russians are making some pretty impressive gains in the Donbas [through that],” he told the Express.
“But actually, if if Putin decided to use some of these more deadly chemical weapons like Novichok that would probably be more dangerous than using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. So these are things that must be looked at very closely.”
It was a situation, de Bretton-Gordon explained, made worse by the Ukrainian army lacking the most basic tool in dealing with chemical warfare.
“What the Ukrainian army really want is some gas masks,” he added, “if they had that, then, they would be, much, you know, in a much better position to fight back against the Russians than they are at the moment.
“I am trying to help them crowdfund, beg, borrow and steal them [for the Ukrainian troops]. [But] I think it’s not a headline issue. For one storm shadow missile, you could probably give enough gas masks to half the Ukraine army.”
The former officer said it was “beyond him” why sourcing gas masks was not more of a priority for Ukraine’s allies but suggested the fact the Russians were using CS gas, which incapacitates rather than killing directly, may be a reason why it was not being prioritised.
He believes that Western leaders underestimate the threat of chemical warfare at their peril as the effects could be equally devastating.
“[Vladimir] Putin has no qualms threatening [Nuclear armeggedon] virtually daily,” he added.
“They do it [because] it terrifies Western leaders into not supporting Ukraine.
“[The chemical weapon] Novichok could kill hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine, far more than actually a nuclear attack.
“What Putin wants the West to do is to withdraw [and] not support Ukraine. If he can terrify them with threat of chemical attack, then that’s the way his mind works.”
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