Russian soldiers have been "fatally poisoned" by bottled water delivered to them on the front lines. Reports say many suffered from "seizures, loss of consciousness, and death", after having drunk the contaminated water.
At least four soldiers died in agony, while many others fell seriously ill. In one distressing video clip, soldiers can be seen writhing in agony, as a military medic attempts to assist them. "He is so unwell," someone can be heard saying in another video, as a soldier doubles up in pain. He is asked: "Have you taken some water on the way?"
But the man "can't even say anything. He is really bad." The alleged poisoning happened in the area of Panteleimonivka in Donetsk region, and the water was supposedly supplied to the troops as part of a humanitarian consignment.
The brand was called "Our Water", and it reportedly came from Simferopol, capital of Russia-annexed Crimea.
The pro-Kremlin Tsargrad media channel demanded a thorough investigations to determine "who supplied the water, how it got to the front line, and who could have poisoned it?"
"One thing is clear - soldiers should be extremely careful with any drinks," they warned.
Russian war bloggers suspected a "Ukrainian sabotage operation", but there is no clear evidence of this. A Ukrainian source hit back: "It's unclear whether this was actual poisoning or drug overdoses, with commanders possibly using the 'poisoned water' story to cover up drug-related incidents."
It came as Vladimir Putin staged yet another massive bombardment of Ukraine overnight - but avoided major strikes on the capital Kyiv where Donald Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg is present all week.
In a visit to a plant making drones planes, Kellogg praised Ukraine for "incredible innovations". He posted: "In this new era/type of warfare, they are leading. Their speed of innovation and adaptability is astounding."
Russian continued its campaign of terror, hitting the Donetsk region, Dnipro and Nikopol. A giant 500kg bomb smashed into the shopping centre Dobropillia in Ukraine's Donetsk region - killing two and leaving 25 injured as rescuers battled flames and dug through rubble.
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