KURSK, September 29. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops have been using chemical weapons in their attacks on Russia’s Kursk Region, Yulia, a Russian volunteer, said as she recounted inhaling toxic vapors while evacuating a war veteran from the Korenevo District.

"We have come under chemical attacks and drone attacks, too. <…> We were visiting a Great Patriotic War veteran, Tamara, 96. <…> We could not make it to her apartment as there was thick gray smoke and tears immediately came out of my eyes and I felt a strange burning in my nose," Yulia told TASS. She and a fellow volunteer had to put on breathing gas masks before evacuating the WWII war veteran, she added.

In mid-August, Kursk Region Governor Aleksey Smirnov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine used chemical weapons in the region’s Belaya District.

Yulia was exposed to poison gas on September 1. Commenting on the situation along the line of engagement, she said drones have been "buzzing like bees" there.

Ukrainian troops launched a massive attack on the Kursk Region on August 6. A federal level emergency has been declared there. Local residents have been evacuated to safer territories. The Russian Investigative Committee said more than 8,000 people had been victimized by the Ukrainian offensive.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost over 18,000 troops and 132 tanks since its incursion into the Kursk Region. The operation to wipe out Ukrainian units is ongoing.