Soldiers from Russia’s 3rd Rifle Division died shortly after eating at Kharkiv’s Izium, the country’s Central Intelligence Agency said in a Facebook post on Saturday. Another 28 soldiers are in intensive care after the poisoning, while about 500 others are being treated in hospital suffering from severe alcohol poisoning, according to the post. Officials claimed that Russia was describing the troops as “non-combat casualties”. The agency said in a statement: “The Ukrainians are resisting the occupiers by all available means. “According to the available information, residents of the Izium region (Kharkiv region) were” treated “by Russians from the 3rd Rifle Division of the Russian Federation with poisoned pies. “As a result, two conquerors died at the same time, another 28 were transferred to the intensive care unit. Their current situation is being clarified. “About 500 more soldiers of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the Russian Federation are in hospitals due to severe alcohol poisoning of unknown origin.” Russian troops have handed over control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukrainians and left the heavily contaminated site on Thursday after being poisoned by radioactive soldiers. Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company Energoatom said the withdrawal from Chernobyl came after soldiers received “significant doses” of radioactivity from digging trenches in the forest in the blockade zone around the closed plant, although no independent confirmation has been made. The withdrawal comes amid growing suspicions that the Kremlin is covering up talks on de-escalation in Ukraine, reorganizing, replenishing its forces and launching an escalating offensive in the east of the country. This map shows the extent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Pictures) Mass graves with civilians tied up and “bullet holes in the back of their heads” have been found in areas where Russian troops are retreating, according to the Ukrainian government. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesman has revealed the complete horror unleashed in cities near Kyiv as Vladimir Putin’s forces abandon efforts to seize the capital. Ukrainian troops entered Bukha, a town 15 miles northwest of the capital, on Saturday, where they reportedly found at least 20 dead men on the street. The mayor said they had buried 280 people in mass graves – while some of the few survivors enjoyed “their first bread in 38 days”. Locals said the dead were civilians killed by outgoing Russian soldiers without provocation. The Independent has a proud campaign history for the rights of the most vulnerable and we first launched our “Welcome Refugees” campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and start this report on In the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we call on the government to move faster and faster to secure aid. To learn more about our Refugee Campaign, click here. To sign the application click here. If you would like to donate, click here for our GoFundMe page.
