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Shelling and poisoning claims in southern Ukraine
Summary
A look back at two reports from the southern front in the days before 22 August 2022, involving Voznesensk and Zaporizhzhia.
What was happening in southern Ukraine in the days before 22 August 2022? Two reports, both dated 20 August, show a front where civilians and soldiers alike were caught up in the fighting.
In Voznesensk, in Mykolaiv Oblast, Russian shelling hit a residential building. Nine civilians were injured, four of them children, according to regional governor Vitaliy Kim. The attack fell within the Southern Ukraine campaign and was among the incidents categorised as war crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The same day, Russia said a number of its soldiers in Zaporizhzhia had been poisoned by Ukraine. Moscow said tests showed Botulinum toxin type B in their bodies. The claim was Russia's own, and it was made as part of the same southern campaign.
Taken together, the two accounts show a region where residential areas were under fire and where both sides were trading serious accusations. By 22 August 2022, the southern front remained a focus of attention.
