A rescue team from the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry takes part in a drill in the city of Zaporizhia (Image: AFP via Getty)

Russia has accused Ukraine of poisoning its troops near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, raising concerns that the Kremlin may be preparing an excuse to use chemical weapons.

Kyiv’s Interior Ministry said military personnel may have caused the illness by canning rotten meat.

The Russian Defense Ministry said several soldiers were taken to a military hospital on July 31 after showing signs of severe poisoning.

Tests revealed the presence of botulinum toxin type B, a poisonous substance, in their bodies.

“Russia is preparing evidence to support all analytical findings on the acts of chemical terrorism sanctioned by the Zelensky regime,” the ministry statement added.

He did not say how many military personnel were affected, what their current conditions were or what the “corroborating evidence” was.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine on Friday, August 19, 2022. Kyiv and Moscow continue to accuse each other of bombing Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which generates international fear. mainland disaster. (Satellite image? 2022 via Maxar Technologies AP)

A satellite image shows the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine (Image: AP)

Rescue teams from Ukraine's Ministry of Emergency Situations take part in an exercise in the city of Zaporizhia in the event of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Zaporizhia on August 17, 2022. - Ukraine is still deeply scarred by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. In the accident, a Soviet-era nuclear reactor exploded, releasing radiation into the atmosphere in the north of the country. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was captured early in the war and has been in Russian hands ever since. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF/AFP) (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Training at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in preparation for a possible nuclear accident (Image: AFP via Getty)

Botulinum toxin type B is a neurotoxin that can cause botulism when previously contaminated food is ingested, but it can also have medical uses.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond, but Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko commented on Russia’s accusations over the Telegram messaging app.

“The agency (the Russian Defense Ministry) has not determined whether the poisoning could have been caused by expired canned meat, which often contains botulinum toxin,” he said.

“From the first days of the invasion of Ukraine, the occupation forces filed massive complaints about expired food.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said it was conducting a further investigation into an incident that upset Russian-appointed administrator Vladimir Sardo in the Kherson region of occupied Ukraine.

Saldo, the former mayor of the city of Kherson and designated head of the area of ​​the same name when Russian forces occupied it in early March, fell ill in early August.

Russia said the “special military operation,” which began on February 24, is aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and protecting Russian-speakers in what President Vladimir Putin has called historical Russian territory.

Kyiv and the West see this as a war of gratuitous conquest aimed at destroying Ukraine’s national identity.

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