MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces poisoned Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) Head Leonid Pasechnik with phenolic compounds in 2023, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said.

According to him, the Ukrainian army "uses toxic compounds not only during military operations, but also to carry out terrorist acts." "On 5 December 2023, the head of the administration of the Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik was severely poisoned with phenolic compounds," Kirillov said.

He also reiterated that on August 9, 2022, Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo was hospitalized with signs of poisoning. Laboratory tests revealed the presence of ricin in biomedical samples, the substance included in Schedule 1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

On August 4, 2022, Saldo told about his hospitalization following a check-up. He was treated at the toxicology ward of the Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine in Moscow. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that an investigation into the use of chemical warfare agents against the Kherson Region governor was underway.