The first two reports are from the Russian TASS agency. The third is from the English-language news site of the government of Donetsk. During World War II the U.S. started the weaponization of the botulinum toxin at Fort Detrick in Maryland. 

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Intensity of shelling by Kiev forces in Donbass not subsiding

Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s enlarged board meeting on Tuesday.

In his words, more than 120 mercenaries from private US military companies were detected in the towns of Avdeevka and Priazovskoye in the Donetsk Region. They are setting up firing points, plotting military operations and training radical armed groups.

According to Shoigu, canisters with unknown chemical substances were delivered to the town of Avdeyevka and the village of Krasny Liman.

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US brings botulinum toxin to Ukraine – Donetsk Republic

The People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic has evidence that a batch of botulinum toxin (a highly toxic substance causing paralysis) and its antidote has been delivered to Ukraine from the United States, the deputy chief of the People’s Militia Directorate, Eduard Basurin, said on the Rossiya-1 television channel in an interview on Wednesday.

“It is common knowledge that the United States has brought different types of weapons to Ukraine,” he said adding that a batch of an antidote for botulinum toxin was delivered in October. Basurin recalled that botulinum toxin was a chemical warfare agent.

“The chemical substance proper was supplied in November,” he added. “A 300-kilogram container of this warfare agent, used as a spray, was brought to Mariupol. The poisonous substance was then moved to the Kharkov region.”

Basurin confirmed the presence of US military instructors on the engagement line.

“Their task is to make fire emplacements. They obey only certain people. They do not have a common command on the Ukrainian side,” he said.

On December 21, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the presence of more than 120 members of private US military companies had been identified in the villages of Avdeyevka and Priazovskoye. He stressed that containers with unknown chemical compounds had been delivered to the village of Avdeyevka and Krasny Liman for staging provocations. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolayenko has denied the presence of private military instructors from the US or toxic chemicals in the Kiev-controlled part of Donbass.

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Basurin reveals details of US shipments of toxic substances to Ukraine

Ukraine received several shipments of toxic substances from the United States, the deputy head of the DPR People’s Militia Eduard Basurin said.

According to him, botulinum toxin and its antidote were imported to Ukraine in the autumn. This toxic substance causes paralysis and is deadly. Basurin said that the toxin came in metal containers that can be used in grenade launcher attacks, as well as dropped by unmanned aerial vehicles.

The deputy head added that at the same time a 300 kg container with benzoxazepin chemical agent arrived to Mariupol.

Earlier, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Ukrainian side was preparing a provocation using poisonous substances. It was reported that tanks with unidentified chemical components were delivered to Avdeyevka and Krasnyi Liman.