DISINFO: New evidence of US military-biological activity in Ukraine
SUMMARY
Documents obtained by the DPR's intelligence service show that the Pentagon and Kiev have cooperated in organising the work of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory for a long time, long before 2014 even. This casts doubt on recent US statements claiming that there is no bio-military activity near the Russian borders.
RESPONSE
The article promotes a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about biological weapons being secretly developed by the US in countries bordering Russia. This narrative is a leitmotif in a years-old disinformation campaign conducted by the Kremlin and is currently deployed in an attempt to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Some of the most bizarre and yet enduring Kremlin disinformation narratives have been those accusing the West of running clandestine biological research programmes to wreak havoc around the world. In reality, all laboratories located in Ukraine are controlled by the Ukrainian government. In August 2005, the US and Ukrainian governments made an agreement to prevent the spread of dangerous pathogens and relevant expertise and to diminish potential biological risks. Partially, this agreement was aimed at modernising state laboratories in Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and other regions, consisting of upgrading lab equipment and repairs of premises.
The US Embassy in Ukraine previously addressed the claims about supposed bio-military labs in Ukraine, stating that this is a fabricated accusation in pro-Kremlin propaganda that aims to hinder the ongoing U.S.-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats. The accusations are part of the Kremlin’s broader, long-lasting disinformation campaign to discredit the US in the eyes of Putin’s pro-Western neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine.
More cases concerning bio-military labs near Russia’s border include: Ukraine disease outbreaks linked to activity of US biolabs; Germany was involved in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine; Bio experiments in US labs turn Ukrainian soldiers into ‘most cruel monsters’.