Russia accuses US of preparing to target its troops with drones carrying malaria-bearing mosquitoes

 

Russia has accused the United States of preparing to target its troops with drones carrying malaria-bearing mosquitos.

 Igor Kirillov, head of Vladimir Putin’s Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, alleged the aim was to cause illness or death from malaria.

 The accusation came as Ukrainian soldiers raised their country's blue and yellow flag in a newly recaptured village, amid claims they have 'paused' their counteroffensive.

Ukraine said its soldiers had liberated an eighth village, Piatykhatky - in the southern Zaporizhzhia region - from Moscow's grasp - amid claims from Kyiv that its forces had inflicted 'significant loses' on Russia's invading armies.

 In the past week, more than 4,800 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said in a Monday post on Telegram, while a further 80 Russians have been captured, she added.