Head of Russia’s Wagner group claims Ukrainian forces drop poisonous substances with drones

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The head of the Russian Wagner private military company on Monday claimed that Ukrainian forces are dropping poisonous substances with the help of drones.

“As for chemistry, it is actively used by Ukrainian units - various phosphorus compounds, toxic substances in powder and gaseous forms. They are thrown off with the help of ammunition, from unmanned aerial vehicles and in other ways,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Telegram.

Prigozhin further claimed that the Ukrainian army widely distributed various psychotropic substances among its soldiers, including various pills, salts, and amphetamines, that “reduce pain thresholds, increase activity, and also reduce the degree of fear.”

He said that they are in the possession of someone who spoke about “experiments which foreign curators conducted on Ukrainian military personnel, lowering pain thresholds and trying to create a so-called ‘universal soldier’ with the help of medication.”

Wagner has faced controversy and criticism, with the EU and Ukraine sanctioning Prigozhin for “undermining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine” in the past year.

In January, the US designated the Wagner Group as a criminal organization, while in 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Wagner mercenaries for working for a putschist general in Libya.