The Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of poisoning the military with botulinum toxin

The Russian military in the Vasilyevka area of ​​the Zaporozhye region were taken to a hospital with signs of severe poisoning, doctors found they had the substance botulinum toxin type "B",approves the agencyView of the building of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian FederationView of the building of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian FederationView of the building of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian FederationView of the building of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian FederationView of the building of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federationbuilding of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federationbuilding of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The Russian military, performing tasks in the Vasilyevka area of ​​the Zaporozhye region, ended up in a hospital with signs of severe poisoning, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.

The poisonous substance botulinum toxin type "B" was found in their bodies, according to the department.

At the request of Roskomnadzor, RBC provides data on the details of the military operation in Ukraine based on information from Russian official sources.

“In order to establish the causes of poisoning, specialists from the Main Research and Testing Institute of Military Medicine of the Russian Ministry of Defense (St. Petersburg) conducted an additional analysis, which unequivocally confirmed the presence of an organic poison of artificial origin - botulinum toxin type B,” the message says.

The ministry did not name the number of soldiers who were poisoned, nor did they specify what condition they were in.

What is botulinum toxin and where is it found

Botulinum toxin is a protein poison that affects the nervous system, Valentin Vlasov, head of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RBC.

“This is a very strong poison. But due to him, Botox is used. To smooth out wrinkles is a small dose of botulinum toxin, ”the chemist explained the action of the toxin,“ when it is pricked, immovable skin is obtained.

Vlasov also mentioned that the bacteria of this toxin may be present in canned food: “When they [jars] swell, it’s just because the bacteria that produce this poison multiply.”

Botulinum toxin is one of the most powerful poisons of organic origin, it is produced by Clostridium bacteria, which are anaerobic, that is, they live in the absence of oxygen, military expert Igor Nikulin, a former member of the UN Commission on Biological Weapons, told RBC.

“Producing such a poison is a difficult task even in modern laboratories, so it can only be produced in US military biological laboratories of the third and fourth levels of biosafety,” the expert believes.

Russia is preparing evidence of "chemical terrorism" with the results of all the analyzes carried out, which will soon be sent to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) through the Russian permanent mission. In addition, an additional investigation is underway into "poisoning with chemical warfare agents" by the head of the interim administration of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, the Defense Ministry said.

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Military operation in Ukraine. Main Politics

In early August, the head of the Kherson military-civilian administration, Saldo, announced that he had been hospitalized. According to him, after the government meeting, the minister of health approached him and drew attention to his appearance, the minister began to insist on an immediate medical examination. “Of course, I refused, but the minister brought doctors to the office, who, after doing an examination, insisted on immediate hospitalization. After discussing with the Prime Minister and colleagues, I decided to agree with the doctors' proposals," Saldo said. Acting became the head of the government of the region Sergey Eliseev.

Later, RT, citing a source in the regional administration and the Baza Telegram channel, reported that Balance had been put into a coma and needed to be transported to Moscow. At the same time, a few hours before the appearance of these messages, a post was published on the official’s personal Telegram channel on his behalf, which stated that the deterioration in his health was associated with complications after COVID-19 . In a message on behalf of Saldo, it was stated that he was feeling well, and "the doctors are talking about positive dynamics."

Deputy head of the CAA Kirill Stremousov then denied reports of Saldo's coma, calling them "part of Ukraine's information war against Russia." He explained the official’s hospitalization “as a result of the most severe overstrain, physical and mental, that the head of the CAA suffered over the past six months.” According to Stremousov, Saldo "sleep several hours a day, worked seven days a week."

The next day after hospitalization, the head of the VGA was taken from Simferopol to the Moscow Research Institute. N.V. Sklifosovsky.

The Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stated that Ukraine is preparing provocations with the use of poisonous substances. So, at the end of July, the Russian military claimed that employees of the Security Service of Ukraine were going to blow up containers with hexane with a volume of more than 120 tons at an oil and fat plant in Slovyansk.