The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has announced that it has issued a notice of suspicion in absentia to Colonel Roman Shkroba, commander of Russia’s 123rd Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Southern Military District. He is accused of ordering the use of prohibited chemical grenades against Ukrainian defense forces in Donetsk Oblast.
In December 2024, the SBU similarly charged Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military’s radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces. The next day, Kirillov was killed in an explosion triggered by a scooter rigged with explosives near his residence.
According to Ukrainian counterintelligence and the SBU, in 2023, Shkroba ordered his subordinates to deploy K-51 and RG-Vo gas grenades against Ukrainian defenders in Donetsk Oblast. The use of chemical weapons was an attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses amid continuous battles near the village of Spirne.
By deploying chemically charged grenades, including tear gas, Russian forces aimed to force Ukrainian troops out of defensive positions ahead of an assault by Moscow’s storm units.
Based on gathered evidence, SBU investigators have charged Shkroba in absentia with a war crime committed by a group under prior conspiracy. Efforts are ongoing to locate and hold him accountable for crimes against Ukraine.
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