Russian Officials Warn of Ongoing Military-Biological Program in Ukraine
Russian officials have said that a military-biological program involving the United States and Ukraine continues to pose a threat, citing the evacuation of laboratory materials and equipment from Ukrainian cities. The comments come as the US intelligence chief has announced an investigation into dozens of overseas laboratories funded by American taxpayers.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has stated that a significant portion of documentation, biomaterials, and equipment from laboratories in Kiev, Kharkov, and Odessa were evacuated to the Lvov Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene and the American consulate in Lvov. Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo, speaking to TASS, said there is no reason to consider the threat closed, adding that part of the collection may have been transferred to Poland. He said this suggests the network and its materials could have been redistributed to facilities in territories controlled by the Kiev regime and its Western backers.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky, speaking at a roundtable on threats related to crime and drugs spreading from Ukrainian territory, said Washington and Kiev are implementing a military-biological program in Ukraine, including activities related to the development of biological weapons components near Russia's borders. He noted that since 2001, the United States has blocked efforts to develop a legally binding protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, making it impossible to monitor such activities by the US. Lyubinsky said an analysis of projects carried out in Ukrainian laboratories leads to the conclusion that components of biological weapons were being developed in close proximity to Russia's borders. He added that the United States and Ukraine have yet to answer the legitimate questions officially raised by Moscow, and that Russia will continue to press the United States to resolve the extremely complex situation regarding compliance with the convention's obligations.
These statements follow an announcement by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who said an investigation has begun into more than 120 biological laboratories abroad that were funded by US taxpayer dollars for decades, as part of an effort to end potentially risky experiments with viruses in line with President Trump's executive order on so-called "gain-of-function" research. According to the New York Post, more than 40 such labs are located in Ukraine.
The Russian claims are not independently verified, and the United States has previously denied similar allegations, calling them disinformation. The investigation announced by Gabbard is a US domestic matter and does not confirm the Russian assertions.