History of the use of chemical weapons. Dangerous chemical weapons

War is terrible in itself, but it becomes even more terrible when people forget about respect for the enemy and begin to use means from which it is no longer possible to escape. In memory of the victims of the use chemical weapons We have prepared for you a selection of six of the most famous such incidents in history.

1. Second Battle of Ypres during the First World War

This incident can be considered the first in the history of chemical warfare. On April 22, 1915, Germany used chlorine against Russia near the city of Ypres in Belgium. On the front flank of the German positions, 8 km long, cylindrical cylinders with chlorine were installed, from which in the evening they released a huge cloud of chlorine, blown by the wind towards the Russian troops. The soldiers had no means of protection, and as a result of this attack, 15,000 people were seriously poisoned, of whom 5,000 died. A month later, the Germans repeated the attack on the Eastern Front, this time 9,000 soldiers were gassed, 1,200 died on the battlefield.

These victims could have been avoided: military intelligence warned the allies of a possible attack and the presence of cylinders of unknown purpose in the enemy's possession. However, the command decided that the cylinders could not pose any particular danger, and the use of new chemical weapons was impossible.

It is difficult to consider this incident a terrorist attack - after all, it happened during the war, and there were no casualties among the civilian population. But it was then that chemical weapons showed their terrible effectiveness and began to be widely used - first during this war, and after the end - in peacetime.

Governments had to think about chemical protection means - new types of gas masks appeared, and in response to this, new types of toxic substances appeared.

2. The use of chemical weapons by Japan in the war with China

The following incident occurred during World War II: Japan used chemical weapons many times during the conflict with China. Moreover, the Japanese government, headed by the emperor, considered this method of warfare extremely effective: firstly, chemical weapons are no more expensive than ordinary weapons, and secondly, they allow them to manage with almost no losses in their troops.

By order of the emperor, they were created special units for the development of new types of toxic substances. Chemicals were first used by Japan during the bombing of the Chinese city of Woqu - about 1,000 aerial bombs were dropped on the ground. The Japanese later detonated 2,500 chemical shells during the Battle of Dingxiang. They did not stop there and continued to use chemical weapons until their final defeat in the war. In total, about 50,000 people or more died from chemical poisoning - victims were both among the military and among the civilian population.

Later, Japanese troops did not risk using chemical weapons mass destruction against the advancing forces of the USA and the USSR. Probably due to well-founded fears that both of these countries have own reserves chemicals, several times greater than Japan's potential, so the Japanese government rightly feared a retaliatory strike on its territories.

3. US environmental war against Vietnam

The next step was taken by the United States. It is known that during the Vietnam War, states actively used toxic substances. Of course, the civilian population of Vietnam had no chance to defend themselves.

During the war, starting in 1963, the United States sprayed 72 million liters of Agent Orange defoliants over Vietnam, which was used to destroy forests where Vietnamese partisans were hiding, as well as directly during bombing settlements. The mixtures used contained dioxin, a substance that settles in the body and results in diseases of the blood, liver, disruption of pregnancy and, as a consequence, deformities in newborn children. As a result, a total of more than 4.8 million people suffered from the chemical attack, and some of them experienced the consequences of poisoning forests and soil after the war was over.

The bombing almost caused environmental disaster- as a result of the action of the chemicals, the ancient mangrove forests growing in Vietnam were almost completely destroyed, about 140 species of birds died, the number of fish in the poisoned reservoirs sharply decreased, and what remained could not be eaten without risk to health. But in large quantities Plague rats multiplied and infected ticks appeared. In some ways, the consequences of the use of defoliants in the country are still felt - from time to time children are born with obvious genetic abnormalities.

4. Tokyo subway sarin attack

Perhaps the most famous terrorist attack in history, unfortunately successful, was carried out by the non-religious Japanese religious sect"Aum Senrikyo". In June 1994, Matsumoto drove through the streets truck, in the body of which a heated evaporator was installed. Sarin was applied to the surface of the evaporator - a poisonous substance that enters the human body through the respiratory tract and paralyzes nervous system. The evaporation of sarin was accompanied by the release of a whitish fog, and fearing exposure, the terrorists quickly stopped the attack. However, 200 people were poisoned and seven of them died.

The criminals did not stop there - taking into account previous experience, they decided to repeat the attack indoors. On March 20, 1995, five unknown people descended into the Tokyo subway carrying bags of sarin. The terrorists punctured their bags in five different subway trains, and the gas quickly spread throughout the subway. A pinhead-sized drop of sarin is enough to kill an adult, but the attackers had two liter bags each. According to official data, 5,000 people were seriously poisoned, of whom 12 died.

The terrorist attack was well planned - cars were waiting for the perpetrators at the designated places at the exit from the metro. The organizers of the terrorist attack, Naoko Kikuchi and Makoto Hirata, were found and arrested only in the spring of 2012. Later, the head of the chemical laboratory of the Aum Senrikyo sect admitted that over two years of work, 30 kg of sarin was synthesized and experiments were conducted with other toxic substances - tabun, soman and phosgene.

5. Terrorist attacks during the Iraq War

During the war in Iraq, chemical weapons were used repeatedly, and both sides of the conflict did not disdain them. For example, a chloride gas bomb was detonated in the Iraqi village of Abu Saida on May 16, killing 20 people and injuring 50 others. Earlier, in March of the same year, terrorists detonated several chlorine bombs in the Sunni province of Anbar, which in total injured more than 350 people. Chlorine is lethal to humans - this gas causes fatal damage respiratory system, and with small exposure it leaves severe burns on the skin.

At the very beginning of the war, in 2004, American troops used white phosphorus as a chemical incendiary weapon. When used, one such bomb destroys all living things within a radius of 150 m from the point of impact. The American government first denied its involvement in the incident, then announced a mistake, and finally, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable admitted that American troops quite consciously used phosphorus bombs for assaults and combat armed forces enemy. Moreover, the United States stated that incendiary bombs are a completely legal instrument of war, and in the future the United States does not intend to abandon its use if the need arises. Unfortunately, when using white phosphorus civilians suffered.

6. Terrorist attack in Aleppo, Syria

Militants still use chemical weapons. For example, quite recently, on March 19, 2013, in Syria, where there is currently a war between the opposition and the current president, a rocket filled with chemicals was used. An incident occurred in the city of Aleppo, as a result of which the city center, included in the UNESCO lists, was severely damaged, 16 people died, and another 100 people were poisoned. There are still no reports in the media about what specific substance was contained in the rocket, however, according to eyewitnesses, when inhaled, the victims experienced suffocation and severe convulsions, which in some cases led to death.

Opposition representatives blame the Syrian government for the incident, which does not admit guilt. Given the fact that Syria is prohibited from developing and using chemical weapons, it was assumed that the UN would take over the investigation, but at present the Syrian government is not giving its consent to this.

On the night of July 12-13, 1917, the German army used the poisonous gas mustard gas (a liquid poisonous substance with a blister effect) for the first time during the First World War. The Germans used mines that contained an oily liquid as a carrier of the toxic substance. This event took place near the Belgian city of Ypres. The German command planned with this attack to disrupt the offensive of the Anglo-French troops. When mustard gas was first used, 2,490 military personnel suffered injuries of varying severity, of whom 87 died. UK scientists quickly deciphered the formula for this agent. However, the production of a new toxic substance was launched only in 1918. As a result, the Entente was able to use mustard gas for military purposes only in September 1918 (2 months before the armistice).

Mustard gas has a clearly defined local effect: the agent affects the organs of vision and breathing, skin and gastrointestinal tract. The substance, absorbed into the blood, poisons the entire body. Mustard gas affects human skin when exposed, both in droplet and vapor states. The usual summer and winter uniform did not protect the soldier from the effects of mustard gas, as did almost all types of civilian clothing.

Conventional summer and winter army uniforms do not protect the skin from drops and vapors of mustard gas, just like almost any type of civilian clothing. There was no complete protection of soldiers from mustard gas in those years, so its use on the battlefield was effective until the very end of the war. First world war they even called it the “war of chemists”, because neither before nor after this war were chemical agents used in such quantities as in 1915-1918. During this war, the fighting armies used 12 thousand tons of mustard gas, which affected up to 400 thousand people. In total, during the First World War, more than 150 thousand tons of toxic substances (irritant and tear gases, blister agents) were produced. The leader in the use of chemical agents was the German Empire, which had a first-class chemical industry. In total, Germany produced more than 69 thousand tons of toxic substances. Germany was followed by France (37.3 thousand tons), Great Britain (25.4 thousand tons), USA (5.7 thousand tons), Austria-Hungary (5.5 thousand), Italy (4.2 thousand . tons) and Russia (3.7 thousand tons).

"Attack of the Dead" The Russian army suffered the largest losses from exposure to chemical agents among all participants in the war. The German army was the first to use poison gas as a means of mass destruction on a large scale during the First World War against Russia. On August 6, 1915, the German command used explosive agents to destroy the garrison of the Osovets fortress. The Germans deployed 30 gas batteries, several thousand cylinders, and on August 6 at 4 am a dark green fog of a mixture of chlorine and bromine flowed onto the Russian fortifications, reaching the positions in 5-10 minutes. A gas wave 12-15 m high and up to 8 km wide penetrated to a depth of 20 km. The defenders of the Russian fortress had no means of defense. Every living thing was poisoned.

Following the gas wave and a barrage of fire (German artillery opened massive fire), 14 Landwehr battalions (about 7 thousand infantrymen) went on the offensive. After the gas attack and artillery strike, no more than a company of half-dead soldiers, poisoned by chemical agents, remained in the advanced Russian positions. It seemed that Osovets was already in German hands. However, Russian soldiers showed another miracle. When the German chains approached the trenches, they were attacked by Russian infantry. It was a real “attack of the dead,” the sight was terrible: Russian soldiers walked into the bayonet line with their faces wrapped in rags, shaking with a terrible cough, literally spitting out pieces of their lungs onto their bloody uniforms. It was only a few dozen soldiers - the remnants of the 13th company of the 226th Zemlyansky infantry regiment. The German infantry fell into such horror that they could not withstand the blow and ran. Russian batteries opened fire on the fleeing enemy, who, it seemed, had already died. It should be noted that the defense of the Osovets fortress is one of the brightest heroic pages First World War. The fortress, despite the brutal shelling from heavy guns and assaults by German infantry, held out from September 1914 to August 22, 1915.

Russian empire in the pre-war period it was a leader in the field of various “peace initiatives”. Therefore, it did not have chemical agents or countermeasures in its arsenals similar types weapons, did not conduct serious research work in this direction. In 1915, it was necessary to urgently establish a Chemical Committee and urgently raise the issue of developing technologies and large-scale production of toxic substances. In February 1916, the production of hydrocyanic acid was organized at Tomsk University by local scientists. By the end of 1916, production was organized in the European part of the empire, and the problem was generally solved. By April 1917, the industry had produced hundreds of tons of toxic substances. However, they remained unclaimed in warehouses.

The first use of chemical weapons in the First World War

The 1st Hague Conference in 1899, which was convened at the initiative of Russia, adopted a declaration on the non-use of projectiles that spread asphyxiating or harmful gases. However, during the First World War, this document did not prevent the great powers from using chemical warfare agents, including on a massive scale.

In August 1914, the French were the first to use lachrymatory irritants (they did not cause death). The carriers were grenades filled with tear gas (ethyl bromoacetate). Soon its supplies ran out, and the French army began to use chloroacetone. In October 1914, German troops used artillery shells partially filled with a chemical irritant, against the British positions at Neuve Chapelle. However, the concentration of OM was so low that the result was barely noticeable.

On April 22, 1915, the German army used chemical agents against the French, spraying 168 tons of chlorine near the river. Ypres. The Entente powers immediately announced that Berlin had violated the principles international law, but the German government parried this accusation. The Germans stated that the Hague Convention prohibits only the use of explosive shells, but not gases. After this, chlorine attacks began to be used regularly. In 1915, French chemists synthesized phosgene (a colorless gas). It has become a more effective agent, having greater toxicity than chlorine. Phosgene was used in pure form and in a mixture with chlorine - to increase gas mobility.

Chemical warfare agents began to be used at the time of man's invention of the onion. And even now, some tribes of Indians living in the selva - the Amazon rainforest, lubricate their arrowheads with curare, a poison extracted from the roots and young shoots of plants in the Amazon River basin.

Curare causes damage to the motor nerves, which in turn leads to complete paralysis of the victim and suffocation.

For the first time, toxic substances were used for military purposes in 600 BC. e.

By order of the Athenian king Solon, hellebore roots were thrown into the river from which the enemy took water for his soldiers. A few days later, the enemy warriors were overcome by general diarrhea, and they, having lost all combat effectiveness, surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

400 years later, the Carthaginian commander Hamilcar Barca (209 BC), resorting to cunning, went even further. He insisted on supplying wine from mandrake roots and left the camp with his army. The enemy, taking the departure of the Carthaginians as a defeat, celebrated their easy victory with poisoned wine. The Carthaginians, who returned to the camp, only had to finish off the enemy soldiers, who had fallen into a deep sleep.

The Spartans used sulfur and resins as weapons of war. In 431–430 BC. warriors burned these substances under the walls of the cities of Plataea and Belium, hoping to force the population and garrison to surrender.

In the 4th century. AD The Byzantines created the famous "Greek fire" which they used against the Arabs, Slavs and nomadic peoples. The composition of the “Greek fire” included sulfur, saltpeter, antimony sulphide, resin, vegetable oils, some other components unknown to modern chemists. It was impossible to extinguish it with water. Only rags soaked in vinegar or wet sand managed to put out the flames. In addition, the “Greek fire” emitted suffocating sulfur dioxide SO 2.

Much later, in order to more quickly capture the besieged city, they began to contaminate drinking water sources with improvised means - the decaying bodies of killed soldiers and animals.

In 1155, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa used a similar technique to poison the water sources of the city of Tortuna. To completely deprive the townspeople of water, tar and sulfur were added to it. This made the water taste bad and undrinkable.

The crusaders also used similar methods in the Middle Ages. They also found ways to smoke the enemy out of cities and fortresses, using arsenic, sulfur, and smoke from burning straw or wood.

Later, famous medieval scientists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, physician Aristotle Fioravanti, and chemist Rudolf Glauber, worked on the creation of smoke-forming substances.

New time

When crossing the Western Dvina River, the Swedish king Charles XII ordered the damp straw to be set on fire, and the smoke reliably hid his troops from the eyes of Russian scouts. And 150 years later, with the smoke of burning straw and damp leaves, the French general Pelissier strangled the rebellious Kabyle tribe in Algeria, who had taken refuge in caves.

The English chemical engineer D. Endonald proposed using sulfur dioxide, a powerful gas, in artillery shells against the defenders of Sevastopol. On August 7, 1855, the British government approved the project. Fortunately, it remained on paper, and the defenders of the hero-fortress avoided the horrors of chemical warfare.

Early 20th century

The creation of mass armies by the beginning of the twentieth century is closely connected with a new round of development of chemical weapons. Germany was the first to use chemical warfare agents (CWAs).

With the outbreak of the First World War of 1914–1918. two German institutes - physico-chemical and Kaiser Wilhelm II - began experiments with cacodyl oxide and phosgene:

However, a powerful explosion occurred in the laboratory, and further work were not carried out.

The city of Leverkusen became the center of chemical agents production.

Shrapnel filled with dianisidine sulfate - “shell No. 2” - was first used in the attack on Neuchâtel. The irritant effect of the agent turned out to be weak, and “shell No. 2” was discontinued. Instead, Dr. F. Haber (future laureate Nobel Prize

in chemistry) proposed using chlorine in the form of a gas cloud, which was tested by the Germans at 17:00 on April 22, 1915 in the battle near the Belgian city of Ypres. It was at that hour that the French noticed a greenish-yellow cloud over the German positions, which the wind was blowing in their direction. The soldiers felt a pungent, suffocating odor, their eyes began to burn, and the mucous membranes of their nose and throat began to irritate. In panic, the French troops fled, leaving their positions to the enemy without a fight.

On May 31, 1915, the Germans successfully carried out a gas attack against units of the 2nd Russian Army near Warsaw. On the night of July 13, 1917, the Germans used “yellow cross” artillery shells filled with a potent chemical agent - bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide ClCH 2 CH 2 SCH 2 CH 2 Cl, and disabled about 2.5 thousand Entente soldiers. The British dubbed the German agent “mustard gas,” and the French called it “mustard gas,” after the name of the city of Ypres, where it was first used.

The result of the use of chemical agents in the First World War was poisoning in

Some countries have not signed the protocol - Italy, Japan, the USA and others. And those who signed the Geneva Protocol, in particular Germany, did not particularly take it into account. The chemical arms race continued...

Almost a century ago, on April 22, 1915, Germany carried out its first massive chemical attack on Western Front in Belgium near the city of Ypres, releasing chlorine from almost six thousand cylinders. About five thousand French and British died, three times as many were affected by chlorine. Although chemical weapons have been used in the world before, this date is considered the beginning of the use of chemical weapons in war. But not even a weapon of war last years chemical weapons become a kind of political reason for starting wars...

“That first “official” gas attack lasted only a few minutes. As a result, the Germans cleared part of the territory of the Ypres salient from enemy soldiers. By the way, there, near Ypres, the Germans two years later used a more terrible combat mustard gas, which was named after the place of battles is mustard gas,” the candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of St. Petersburg University told the site state university, co-author of the once sensational book “War Without Shots” Viktor Boyko. — The success of the Germans in that first attack in April 2015 was limited to tactical achievements only. For some reason, the Germans doubted the “quality of the goods” and did not develop a wide offensive. The first echelon of German infantry, slowly advancing behind the cloud of chlorine, allowed the British to close the gap with reserves. This gas attack came as a complete surprise to the Allied troops, but already on September 25, 1915, British troops carried out their test chlorine attack against the Germans...

The first chemical attack against Russian troops was used on May 31, 1915 at Wola Szydłowska near Bolimov in Poland. Ironically, the gas masks were delivered on the evening of May 31, after the attack. The combat losses of Russian troops from the gas attack amounted to 9,146 people, of which 1,183 died from gases. In general, during the First World War, from 390 to 425 thousand soldiers on both sides of the fronts died specifically from the effects of chemical weapons, and several million were injured...

I note that the history of chemical weapons itself is presented in great detail on the Internet - just type the corresponding phrases in any search engine. So I'll just briefly list some fighting with the use of chemical weapons, about which there is not much information on the Internet. For many readers, I think, some facts will be a revelation.

So, in World War I, chemical weapons were used by the armies of 12 countries, not just Germany and the Entente. In 1918, the Red Army used chemical agents during the so-called Yaroslavl uprising of 1918. And during the Tambov uprising of 1920-1921, the Red Army also used it against the rebels. On September 15-18, 1924, the Romanian army used chemical weapons to suppress the Tatarbunary uprising. Chemical agents were used in the Spanish-Franco-Moroccan War of 1925-1926, known as the Rif War, as well as in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-1936, and in the Second Japanese-Chinese War of 1937-1945.

By the way, there is documentary evidence that in the Soviet-Japanese border conflict near Lake Khasan in 1938, both sides made attempts to use chemical weapons. But the Germans, contrary to popular belief, still used gases during the Great Patriotic War- in the Adzhimushkai quarries in Crimea against Soviet soldiers and partisans.

By the way, Hitler did not give the command to use gases during the war not because of his “great humanism,” but because he believed that the USSR had a much larger quantity of chemical weapons than it did for a retaliatory strike. And the main place where toxic substances were used were the gas chambers of death camps... In the US war in Vietnam, chemical weapons were used by both sides. This weapon also appeared during civil war in North Yemen in 1962-1970.

There is no doubt that chemical weapons were actively used by both sides of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980-1988. By the way, it was the chemical weapons that Iraq allegedly possessed that became the reason for the invasion of this country by US troops, who were trying to find them. Now it’s becoming clear where the Americans got “accurate information” about Saddam’s “chemical bombs” - it’s just that the United States was actively supplying them to Iraq just during its war with Iran, which the Americans considered a “great evil” for themselves! But in the end, the Americans didn’t even find “their” combat chemicals in Iraq, obviously getting into trouble...”

By the way, if you believe historical primary sources, already in the First World War the warring parties very quickly became disillusioned with the combat qualities of chemical weapons and continued to use them only because they had no other ways to bring the war out of the positional deadlock. In total, from April 1915 to November 1918, German troops carried out more than 50 gas attacks, the British 150, the French 20. During the First World War, more than 40 types of toxic substances were tested in combat.

Almost all subsequent, “post-war” cases of the use of chemical warfare agents were either of a test nature or punitive - against civilians who did not have the means of protection and knowledge. The generals, on both sides, were well aware of the inexpediency and futility of using “chemistry,” but were forced to reckon with politicians and the military-chemical lobby in their countries.

Chemical weapons have been and remain a popular horror story for politicians. In general, the fate of such a “promising” means of mass murder of people today has developed very paradoxically. Chemical weapons, as well as subsequently atomic weapons, were destined to turn from combat into psychological.

For example, as the site has written more than once, accusations by the Syrian authorities of using chemical weapons against opposition militants could lead to a military operation against the regime of Bashar al-Assad by the United States, France and Great Britain. With the active mediation of Russia, the Syrian government agreed to transfer all its chemical weapons to the international community, thus avoiding intervention in Syria by Western powers. The country has committed itself to the destruction of chemical weapons factories and the transfer toxic substances under international control.

UN experts concluded that chemical weapons were used at least five times during the civil war in Syria, but it was impossible to draw a clear conclusion about which of the warring parties used them... The Syrian authorities and the opposition blame each other for what happened.

On last week It became known that Russia has destroyed 99% of its chemical weapons stockpiles and will liquidate the remainder ahead of schedule in 2017. “Our Version” decided to figure out why the leading military powers so easily agreed to the destruction of this type of weapon of mass destruction.

Russia began destroying Soviet chemical weapons arsenals back in 1998. At that time, the warehouses contained about 2 million shells with various military poisonous gases, which would have been enough to destroy the entire population of the Earth several times over. Initially, funds for the implementation of the ammunition destruction program were allocated by the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Italy and Switzerland. Then Russia launched its own program, which cost the treasury more than 330 billion rubles.

The Russian Federation was far from the only owner of chemical weapons - 13 countries recognized their presence. In 1990, they all acceded to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and Their Destruction. As a result, all 65 chemical weapons factories were shut down, and most of them were converted for civilian use.

Gas masks were even created for horses

At the same time, experts note the ease with which countries that own chemical weapons abandoned their stockpiles. But at one time it was considered very promising. The official date of the first massive use of chemical weapons is considered to be April 22, 1915, when on the front near the city of Ypres german army released 168 tons of chlorine against French and British soldiers in the direction of enemy trenches. The gases then affected 15 thousand people, from their effects 5 thousand died almost instantly, and the survivors died in hospitals or remained disabled for life. The military was impressed by the first success, and the industry of advanced countries in urgently began to increase capacity for the production of toxic substances.

However, it soon became clear that the effectiveness of this weapon was very conditional, which is why, already in the First World War, the warring parties began to become disillusioned with its combat qualities. The most weak point chemical weapons is their absolute dependence on the vagaries of the weather, in general, where the wind goes, so does the gas. In addition, almost instantly after the first chemical attacks Effective means of protection were invented - gas masks, as well as special protective suits that negated the use of chemical weapons. Even protective masks for animals were created. Thus, in the Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of gas masks were purchased for horses, the last ten thousandth batch of which was disposed of just four years ago.

However, the advantage of chemical weapons is that it is quite simple to produce poisonous gas. To do this, according to some experts, it is enough to just slightly change the “recipe” of production at existing chemical enterprises. Therefore, they say, if necessary, the production of chemical weapons can be restored quite quickly. However, there are compelling arguments that explain why countries that possess chemical weapons decided to abandon them.

Combat gases become suicidal

The fact is that the few cases of the use of chemical weapons in recent local wars also confirmed their low effectiveness and low efficiency.

On this topic

During the fighting in Korea in the early 50s, the US Army used chemical agents against the troops of the Korean People's Army and Chinese volunteers. According to incomplete data, from 1952 to 1953 there were over 100 cases of the use of chemical shells and bombs by American and South Korean troops. As a result, more than a thousand people were poisoned, of which 145 died.

Experts note the ease with which countries that possess chemical weapons abandoned their stockpiles. But at one time it was considered very promising

The most widespread use of chemical weapons in modern history was recorded in Iraq. The country's military repeatedly used various chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War between 1980 and 1988. Up to 10 thousand people were poisoned with poisonous gases. In 1988, on the orders of Saddam Hussein, mustard gas and nerve agents were used against Iraqi Kurds in Halabja, northern Iraq. According to some estimates, the death toll reaches 5 thousand people.

The latest incident involving the use of chemical agents occurred in the Syrian city of Khan Sheikhoun (Idlib province) on April 4, 2017. CEO The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons stated that when gas attack On April 4, sarin or its equivalent was used in Syrian Idlib. The poisonous gas killed about 90 people and injured more than 500 people. Representatives of the Russian side reported that the defeat toxic substances is the result of a government attack on a military chemical factory. The events in Khan Sheikhoun served as the official occasion for missile strike US Navy at Ash Shayrat Air Base on April 7.

Thus, the effect of using chemical weapons is even less than that of a missile and bomb strike. There is a lot of hassle with gases. It is extremely difficult to make chemical munitions safe enough to handle and store. Therefore, their presence in battle formations poses a great danger: if the enemy conducts a successful air raid or hits a chemical ammunition depot with a high-precision missile, the damage to his own troops will be unpredictable. Therefore, chemical weapons are being removed from the arsenals of leading armies, but there is a possibility that in the arsenals of individual countries with totalitarian regimes and terrorist organizations it can persist.

There may still be "gas" bombs in the US

However, the Americans tried to improve this type of weapon, working on the creation of binary ammunition. It is based on the principle of refusing to use a finished toxic product - the shells are filled with two components that are individually safe. The advantage of binary ammunition is the safety of storage, transportation and maintenance. However, there are also disadvantages - high cost and complexity of production. Therefore, experts believe that there is a danger - they say that the Americans will retain in their arsenals binary weapons that are not covered by the convention, therefore, in addition to the destruction of classical forms of chemical weapons, the question of eliminating the development cycle of binary weapons must be raised.

As for domestic developments in this direction, they have been formally discontinued a long time ago. Trying to find out how true this is is almost impossible due to the secrecy regime.

Victor Murakhovsky, Chief Editor magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland", reserve colonel:

“Today I don’t see even the slightest need to return to the production of chemical weapons and create means of using them. Just to store and control stockpiles of chemical weapons it is necessary to constantly spend enormous amounts of money. Ammunition with combat gases cannot be stored next to conventional ones; special expensive storage and control systems are required. In my opinion, today not a single country with a modern army is developing chemical weapons; talk about this is nothing more than conspiracy theories. The costs of its development, production, storage and maintenance in readiness for use compared to its effectiveness are absolutely unjustified. The use of chemical warfare agents against modern army is also completely ineffective, since they are equipped with modern effective means protection.

The combination of these factors played a role in favor of signing the treaty banning chemical weapons. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) remains; expert groups within this organization can monitor the availability of such weapons both in signatory countries and in third countries. In addition, the presence of such huge stockpiles of chemical weapons provokes terrorist and other armed forces get it and use it. Although, of course, relatively simple and known species Terrorists can obtain chemical weapons such as mustard gas, chlorine, sarin and soman practically in a school laboratory.