Food Poisoning At Ukrainian Military College Sparks Probe

KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Authorities in eastern Ukraine have launched a criminal investigation into a large-scale outbreak of food poisoning at the Kharkiv Air Force University, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.

Ninety-six cadets were hospitalized with severe food poisoning in mid-November.

The Prosecutor-General's office announced that the mass poisoning has been officially classified as "dereliction of duty" and "dereliction of military duty."

An inspection after the outbreak of poisoning revealed numerous problems at the university cafeteria, including poor sanitary and technical conditions, outdated equipment, and failure by the university authorities to monitor the quality of the food.

Read in Ukrainian here