From Strategic Stability

Report 129. Kiev used CWA against Russian troops — REVISED

August 20, 2022

1. Third type of Ukrainian terrorism – – nowadays a “biological terrorism”

Russian soldiers in Ukraine hospitalized with severe biological poisoning by AFU. Traces of the Botulinum toxin Type B have been discovered in the troops, Russian Defense Ministry says on August 20, 2022.

Botulinum toxin as combat warfare agent or CWA, often called the “miracle poison,” is one of the most toxic biological substances known to science. Produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria, it blocks the release of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter, causing muscle paralysis.

Botulinum toxin poses a major threat as a bioweapon due its ease of production and distribution, and the high fatality rate resulting from poisoning. Recovery is only possible after a lengthy period of intensive care.

It is an “organic poison of artificial origin.” It has been discovered in samples taken from the servicemen, the Russian MoD said, accusing Kiev of conducting earlier “chemical terrorism, and in later case “biological terrorism.”

The Russian troops were “hospitalized with signs of severe poisoning” after being stationed near the village of Vasilyevka in Zaporozhye Region on July 31, the statement said. “The Zelensky regime has authorized terrorist attacks with the use of toxic substances against Russian personnel and civilians” following a string of military defeats in Donbass and other areas, the ministry noted.

So, besides “nuclear terrorism” launched by Kiev against Ukrainian NPPs, and “anti-personnel mines terrorism” used by Kiev against civilians in Donbass, and “chemical terrorism” in the form of attacking chemical plants there appeared one more type of terrorism pursued by Ukrainian leaders – a “biological terrorism” by using Botulinum toxin Type B.

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 or Rosbisnessconsulting mass media. “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.

No, doubt the USA, NATO, the EU, and the UNO will turn a blind eye to such inhuman acts prohibited by the international BW Convention.

2. Kiev still uses Ukrainian civilians as a human shield (examples recorded since August 15 till 20, 2022)

Russian MoD continues to record numerous facts of criminal actions by Kiev regime against civilians, as well as the use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes by Ukrainian armed formations. Here is the list of Ukrainian action in various areas recorded between August 15-20, 2022:

a) in Donetsk People’s Republic

in Artemovsk, militants of nationalist battalions are stationed in the dormitory of the Agrarian College (Pobedy Street), roadblocks and firing points are deployed in immediate vicinity, and approaches to the building are mined, but the local population is deliberately not warned about this;

in Artemovsk, militants of nationalist battalions have equipped a stronghold and ammunition depot in kindergarten No 58 (Gorbatov Street) and placed artillery and mortars in adjacent territory, without evacuating civilians from nearby houses and use them as a human shield;

in Artemovsk, AFU units are stationed on the territory of the tuberculosis hospital (Mariupolskaya Street), roadblocks and firing sites are deployed, and the approaches to the building are mined, but the local population is deliberately not warned about this;

in Artemovsk, militants of nationalist battalions have equipped a stronghold and ammunition depot in school No 7 (Kuznechnaya Street), and placed artillery and MLRS in the surrounding area, without evacuating civilians from nearby houses;

in Avdeyevka, AFU units are stationed in kindergarten No. 10 (Kommunalnaya Street), roadblocks are equipped along the perimeter, and the approaches to the institution are mined, but the local population is deliberately not warned about this;

in Slavyansk, Lokomotiv sports complex (Vokzalna Street) houses AFU soldiers and artillery and MLRS in the surrounding area;

in Slavyansk, Ukrainian armed formations have deployed armoured vehicles and MLRS in kindergarten No 20 (Torskaya Street), from which they are systematically shelling nearby settlements;

in Slavyansk, Ukrainian armed formations have deployed armoured vehicles, artillery pieces and MLRS in School No. 8 (Torskaya Street), from which they systematically shell nearby populated areas, provoking retaliatory fire from units of the Russian Armed Forces and People’s Militia of Donetsk People’s Republic. Civilians are not allowed to leave their homes, and the nationalists are effectively using them as human shields.

in Prelesnoye, AFU have equipped a stronghold and ammunition depot on the territory of the museum complex (Museum of Folk Architecture, Life and Children’s Art) and placed armoured vehicles on the adjoining territory.

in Soledar, AFU units have equipped a stronghold, barracks and ammunition depots in kindergarten No 59 (Preobrazhenskaya Street) and deployed roadblocks and firing points. Under the pretext of alleged security, the militants have forbidden local residents to leave their homes, and all their attempts to evacuate to safe areas on their own are being severely curtailed;

in Aleksandrovka, Ukrainian armed formations are concentrated in the hospital building (Dzerzhinskogo Street), armoured vehicles are deployed in the surrounding area, and residents of nearby houses have not been evacuated;

in Kramatorsk, AFU units have equipped barracks and weapons depots in the city psychiatric hospital (Ye. Bilokur Street), and artillery and MLRS have been deployed on the territory of the institution, from which they systematically shell nearby settlements;

In Novye Sanzhary, Poltava Region, Azov battalion fighters are stationed in a medical centre (Kurortnaya Street), an ammunition depot is equipped, while medical staff and patients have been cynically kicked out of the medical facility by nationalists.In addition, it is known that the bridge across the Psel river and the approaches to it, as well as the sides of the adjacent road, have been mined by AFU units near Staroye Selo, Sumy Region, while the local population has not been deliberately warned about this. The militants plan to blow up the bridge and accuse the Russian Armed Forces of allegedly indiscriminate strikes against transport infrastructure in a well-established scenario with extensive coverage in the Ukrainian and Western media.

in Nikolayevka, there are AFU soldiers stationed at Kindergarten No. 1 (Vitsedmirala Sinetskyi Street) and artillery positions are equipped near pre-school;

in Novoukrainka, Ukrainian nationalists have equipped strongholds and artillery positions in private households, from which they systematically shell positions of the Russian Armed Forces, provoking them to return fire, while the militants keep local residents in their homes, effectively using them as human shield.

in Kurakhovka nationalists have equipped firing positions on the territory of school No. 23 (Kalinina Street) and placed heavy equipment, artillery and MLRS guns, the approaches to the institution are mined, but the local population is deliberately not warned about this;

in Toretsk, AFU have equipped strongholds and ammunition depots in the premises of the music school and the Palace of Culture (Druzhba Street) and have equipped artillery and MLRS positions in the adjacent territory, from which they systematically shell nearby settlements, while civilians are not allowed to leave their homes and the nationalists actually use them as human shields.

b) in other regions

in Dnepr, AFU deployed heavy armoured vehicles and ammunition depots on private premises (Torgovaya Street) without evacuating civilians from the area;

in Nikolaev, nationalists have equipped barracks and stronghold in the building of an industrial vocational school (Vingranovskyi Street);

in Kharkov, the University dormitory houses (Otakar Yarosh Street) AFU units created an ammunition depot and a large number of armoured vehicles in the surrounding area.

Such actions by criminal Ukrainian authorities demonstrate complete indifference to the fate of their own citizens and absolute disregard for all norms of morality and the principles of international humanitarian law.

3. Situation on the battlefields

According to reports release by the DPR authorities on August 20, 2022 one man born in 1955 was injured by Ukrainian anti-personnel mine PFM-1 “Petal”. dispersed by Ukrainian AFU in civilian residential area in Donbass.

Kiev’s regime has scattered more than 19,000 such mines prohibited by the Ottawa Convention Ukraine has signed and ratified it.

As of 10:00AM on August 20, 46 cases of wounding civilians have already been registered in the DPR, including 2 children, on mines PFM One of the injured died in the hospital.

Each day and night AFU shell many residential areas in Donbass by using lethal weapons delivered from the USA, the UK, British, Poland, Canada, Germany and other NATO countries.
According to the DPR, over the past 24 hours, on August 19, in the city of Donetsk, 2 people died from shelling – a man and a woman born in 1949 and 1951 – residents of the Kirovsky District, the village of Lozovoe.
In the Kherson region, local residents were detained, who helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine direct HIMARS missiles at the railway station and the village of Brilevka. The shelling killed seven people, including children.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, protecting civilians in Donbass and in other parts in Ukraine from the third brutal Ukrainian aggression.
High-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces have hit combat positions of Kraken nationalist formation and a unit of foreign mercenaries near Andreevka, Kharkov Region, killing over 100 militants, including up to 20 U.S. mercenaries.
Russian Aerospace Forces operational-tactical aviation near Velikomikhailovka in Dnepropetrovsk Region have almost completely destroyed a battalion of 110th Territorial Defence Brigade of AFU, with losses of at least 200 nationalists killed and over 150 wounded.
As a result of strikes on combat positions of a tank battalion of 28th Mechanized Brigade near Kiselevka, Nikolaev Region, and 212th Rifle Battalion of AFU near Apostolovo, Dnepropetrovsk Region, the enemy has suffered over 200 casualties.
High-precision ground-based weapons have destroyed up to 130 fighters and 8 units of special vehicles in the area of AFU’s manpower and military equipment of 27th Battalion of 127th Territorial Defence Brigade concentration in northern Kharkov.
High-precision air-based missiles have destroyed over 200 personnel, two tanks and 7 special vehicles of 3rd and 12th battalions of 25th Airborne Brigade of AFU near Zvanovka and Paraskovievka in Donetsk People’s Republic.
Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery strikes continue against military facilities in Ukraine.
7 command posts of AFU, including of 53rd Mechanized Brigade near Vodyanoye, 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade in Soledar district in Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as 187 areas of manpower and military equipment have been hit.
One self-propelled Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile launcher near Shevchenko, 4 ammunition depots near Galitsynovka, Konstantinovka, Shabelkovka in Donetsk People’s Republic and Belaya Krinitsa in Kherson Region, 3 fuel depots near Slobozhanskaya in Kharkov Region, Konstantinovka and Galitsinovka in Donetsk People’s Republic, and one U.S.-made ANTPQ-36 counter-battery fire radar near Kramatorsk.
Russian air defence means have destroyed 6 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Vrubovka in Lugansk People’s Republic, Novomikhailovka, Staromlynovka in Donetsk People’s Republic, Bogoroditskoye in Nikolaev Region, Novozlatopol’ in Zaporozhye Region and Fedorovka in Kharkov Region.
In addition, 13 rockets of Olkha multiple-launch rocket system have been shot down in the air near Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in Kherson Region and Militopol’ in Zaporozhye Region.
In total, 267 Ukrainian airplanes and 148 helicopters, 1,776 unmanned aerial vehicles, 367 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4,354 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 809 multiple launch rocket systems, 3,320 field artillery and mortars, as well as 4,969 special military vehicles were destroyed during the SMO.

4. Implementation of the Istanbul food delivery deal

As part of the implementation of this agreement reach on July 22, 2022 since August 1, 2022 a total of 25 vessels have left with 625,050 tonnes of food exported abroad, Including: 487,463 tonnes of maize, 50,301 tonnes of flour, 11,000 tonnes of soya, 13,250 tonnes of sunflower oil, 41,622 tonnes of wheat, 2,914 tonnes of sunflower and 18,500 tonnes of mixed fodder.
On August 18, 2022, dry cargo ship Ay Maria (Belize, cargo – maize) left Chernomorsk port.
Talking over telephone with President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron on August 19, 2022, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, informed the French leader about the progress of the package deal signed on July 22 in Istanbul to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and the export of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets.
Russian head of state pointed out the remaining obstacles to the above Russian exports, also covered by that accord, adding that the situation is doing little to resolve global food security problems.

5. Navigation in the Black Sea area

At the same time 52 foreign vessels from 14 countries remain blocked by Ukraine at six ports, including Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhny.
There also remains a danger to navigation and damage to port infrastructure from drifting Ukrainian mines off anchor along the coast of the Black Sea states.
The Russian Armed Forces have created conditions for the operation of two maritime humanitarian corridors, which are safe lanes for ships:
a) in the Black Sea (round-the-clock) – to leave of Nikolaev, Odessa, Ochakov, Kherson, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny ports in south-western direction from Ukraine’s territorial sea, 307 nautical miles long and 3 miles wide;
b) in the Sea of Azov, to leave Mariupol port 115 miles long and 2 miles wide towards the Black Sea.

6. Russia is helping Donbass to reconstruct houses and other social facilities

The Military Construction Complex of the Russian Defence Ministry continues to build and reconstruct vital facilities as part of the measures to restore the infrastructure of the people’s republics of Donbass:
a) in Donetsk People’s Republic:

• in Mariupol: the first phase of residential district (12 residential buildings with 1,011 flats, completion date in September-November 2022) and an administrative and rescue centre for EMERCOM (scheduled for completion in December 2022);
• 60-bed multi-purpose medical centre (completion date in September 2022);
• pathologoanatomic building with medical-forensic unit (completion date in October 2022);
• Saur-Mogila memorial complex (completion date in September 2022);
• in Volnovakha – a water pipeline over 20 km long (completion date in October 2022, 100% construction readiness, pontoon station pumps are being installed and connected);
  b) in Lugansk People’s Republic
• 200-bed multi-purpose medical centre in Lugansk (completion date in November 2022);
• in Rovenki water pipeline over 40 km long (completion date in October 2022).

Also,
https://www.rt.com/russia/561214-ukraine-chemical-poisoning-moscow/