Russian UAV operators have started using homemade munitions for drones, known as “drops,” containing hazardous chemicals.

These are commercial drones such as the DJI Mavic 3 or Autel, which are used in combat for reconnaissance and firepower.

The leaked manual of the company of radiation chemical and bacteriological defense of the 27th Motorized Rifle Division of the Russian Armed Forces describes its purpose, tactical and technical characteristics, components, and function.

That is, we are not talking about serialized products, such as K-51 gas grenades, special RG-VO gas grenades, or RGR hand grenades.

The occupiers were the first to use K-51 gas grenades. Even during the fighting for the Prokofiev Donetsk airport, Russian propaganda media filmed them in the possession of Russian terrorist forces:

All of them use a variety of toxic substances, such as chloroacetophenone (CN) or chlorobenzalmononitrile (CS).

These substances are banned under the Geneva Protocol, approved by the UN General Assembly in 1969 as a result of their use during the Vietnam War.

For the production of artisanal discharges, the Russians use a ready-made mixture of dangerous chemicals in ampoules.

Other necessary components:

• unified fuse of a modernized hand grenade (called the F-1 grenade)
• plastid
• stabiliser
• adhesive tape

Thus, the Russians first add plastid to the fuse of the grenade, then ampoules with a poisonous substance and a shank, and then wrap it all with tape.

The total weight of such a munition is said to be 300 grams, which is comparable to the weight of a hand grenade RGD-5 (310 grams) or VOG-17 (350 grams), which are also used as ammunition for dropping from drones.

The declared range is 15 meters, and the purpose is to “defeat enemy manpower through the use of toxic substances.”

In March 2025, the radiation, chemical, and biological intelligence units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Support Command recorded 767 cases of the use of various munitions, including “drops” with hazardous chemicals, which are anti-riot weapons and are prohibited for use as weapons of war.

In addition, there is a significant share of ammunition containing hazardous chemicals of unspecified type.

“If the term hazardous chemicals of unspecified type is used, it means that they were used in a place where it is impossible to take a sample. If it is possible to take a sample, it is usually CS, CN substances, sometimes ammonia,” Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Kravchuk, Head of the Communications Department of the Armed Forces Support Command, explained the principle of what exactly is meant by the term in a comment to Militarnyi.

The representative of the AFU Support Forces Command added that Russian units use them in areas where they concentrate their main efforts to attack Ukrainian positions, which makes it difficult to detect them on the battlefield, take samples for further investigation, and bring Russia to justice for violating international law.

In total, since February 2023, 7,730 cases of the use of hazardous chemicals by Russian troops against the Ukrainian military have been recorded.