On Saturday, Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine of poisoning several of its personnel in late July in the Russian-controlled section of Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.
In response, an interior ministry adviser in Ukraine stated that the suspected poisoning might have been caused by Russian personnel consuming expired tinned meat.
On July 31, a number of Russian personnel were rushed to a military hospital with symptoms of acute poisoning, according to the Russian defence ministry. Botulinum toxin type B was found in their systems, according to tests.
“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 indicate how many personnel had been injured or what their current status was. The “supporting evidence” was not specified.
Botulinum toxin type B is a neurotoxin that may induce botulism when consumed in previously tainted food, but it also has medicinal use.
The Ukrainian defence ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment, but interior ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko addressed the Russian accusation on the Telegram messaging app.
“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 stated.
The Russian defence ministry announced an extra probe into the illness of Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed administration in Ukraine’s seized Kherson area.
Saldo, a former mayor of Kherson who was selected to lead the province of the same name after Russian soldiers took it over in early March, fell sick in early August.
Russia claims its “special military operation,” which began on February 24, aims to demilitarise Ukraine and safeguard Russian speakers on what President Vladimir Putin refers to as “ancient Russian soil.”
Ukraine and Western nations see it as an unprovoked conquest war aiming at eradicating Ukraine’s national character.
