- Russia accuses Ukraine of poisoning some of its servicemen in late July.
- Interior ministry adviser in Ukraine says alleged poisoning could have been caused by Russian forces eating expired canned meat.
- The Russian defence ministry announced an additional investigation into the illness of Volodymyr Saldo.
Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of poisoning some of its servicemen in late July in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.
In response, an interior ministry adviser in Ukraine stated that the alleged poisoning could have been caused by Russian forces eating expired canned meat.
On July 31, a number of Russian servicemen were taken to a military hospital with signs of serious poisoning, according to the Russian defence ministry. According to the report, tests revealed a toxic substance, botulinum toxin type B, in their bodies.
“On the fact of chemical terrorism sanctioned by the (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy regime, Russia is preparing supporting evidence with the results of all the analyses,” the ministry said in a statement.
It did not say how many servicemen had been injured or what their current condition was. The “supporting evidence” was not specified.
Botulinum toxin type B is a neurotoxin that can cause botulism when consumed in previously contaminated food, but it also has medical applications.
The Ukrainian defence ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Reuters, but interior ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko addressed the Russian allegation on the Telegram messaging app.c
“The department (Russian defence ministry) does not clarify whether the poisoning could have been caused by expired canned meat, in which botulinum toxin is often found. Overdue rations have been massively complained about by the occupying forces since the first days of the invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
The Russian defence ministry announced an additional investigation into the illness of Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed administration in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region.
Saldo, a former mayor of Kherson who was appointed to lead the region of the same name after Russian troops took it over in early March, fell ill in early August.
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