Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.

The issue of Russia’s alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine was put firmly on the international agenda in May 2024, when the US imposed new sanctions on Russia, accusing it of resorting to the use of tear gas and chloropicrin, an odourless toxic irritant, on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The incident took place following a Russian offensive near the city of Vuhledar, Donetsk Oblast, according to local authorities.