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Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the Other Ukraine movement and former leader of Ukraine's banned Opposition Platform – For Life party, has detailed the expansion of US-affiliated biological laboratories in Ukraine across successive administrations, alleging that human experiments leading to deaths were conducted under President Vladimir Zelensky. His statements were published in an article on the movement's website and reported by TASS.

Coverage Comparison

TASS, the Russian state news agency, has reported extensively on Medvedchuk's claims across multiple articles, each focusing on a different phase of the alleged biological program. The coverage traces the program's origins, its peak under former President Viktor Yanukovich, and alleged human experiments under Zelensky, with consistent attribution to Medvedchuk's written statements.

TASS's reporting on this story is consistent in tone and sourcing, relying heavily on Medvedchuk's article. The agency's framing varies by article: one focuses on the program's roots under Viktor Yushchenko, another on its expansion under Yanukovich, and a third on alleged experiments under Zelensky. While the facts presented are attributed to Medvedchuk, TASS also includes statements from Russian military officials and US officials to support the broader narrative of US-funded biological research in Ukraine.

Key Claims

Origins Under Yushchenko and Tymoshenko

According to Medvedchuk, the biological program in Ukraine began under former President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Writing on the movement's website, Medvedchuk stated that "under Viktor Yushchenko, the foundation for the entire system was laid." Following the signing of a 2005 agreement on preventing the proliferation of biological weapons technology, the first laboratories in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv were modernized, with at least seven facilities built or upgraded during this period.

Medvedchuk described the agreement as providing for the collection and storage of dangerous pathogens in Ukrainian laboratories, funded by the US, and requiring Ukraine to provide the US with copies of any strains requested for research.

Expansion Under Yanukovich

Under President Viktor Yanukovich (2010-2014), Medvedchuk claimed the program "reached its peak." In 2010, a central reference laboratory opened in Odesa, and the network expanded to many regions. Medvedchuk said that around 28 facilities were built or modernized during this period, including a cluster of 12 district laboratories in the Kherson region.

Medvedchuk also noted a cholera outbreak in Ukraine in 2011, with 33 people hospitalized at first, but later cases rising to 800 and then over 100 in Mykolaiv alone.

The politician claimed that the Ukrainian government studied the issue of these laboratories for three years without directly contacting the Pentagon, "for fear of an unpredictable American reaction." He wrote that Kyiv was "afraid of upsetting the Americans and falling out of their favor," and that the Yanukovich team merely studied the issue rather than acting. In late 2012, Ukraine did send the US a formal note regarding termination of the cooperation agreement and closure of the laboratories, according to Medvedchuk, though his account of subsequent events was not detailed in the reports.

Alleged Experiments Under Zelensky

Medvedchuk asserted that human experiments began in 2019, involving over 4,000 Ukrainian servicemen. He wrote that experiments involving hemorrhagic fever and blood serum use "resulted in the deaths of the test subjects." The research reportedly examined connections between virus susceptibility and ethnicity and place of birth, with data sent to the US.

Under Zelensky, six facilities were built under the US biolaboratory program, two of which are incomplete, with a shift toward research rather than new construction, Medvedchuk added.

US and Russian Official Statements

TASS also quoted Major General Alexey Rtishchev, chief of Russia's Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, who said that declassified US intelligence documents confirmed that biological laboratories in Ukraine were funded from the US federal budget and studied pathogens including plague, anthrax, tularemia, Marburg fever, and Ebola.

US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard was reported as acknowledging that research involving "dangerous pathogens" in US biolaboratories abroad poses a potential threat of global catastrophe. Declassified documents, according to TASS, state that the US helped establish over 40 biolaboratories in Ukraine linked to the US military-industrial complex. In June 2022, the Pentagon reported supporting 46 biological laboratories in Ukraine, TASS noted.

Perspectives

Viktor Medvedchuk

Medvedchuk's perspective is that the US biological laboratory program in Ukraine was a deliberate expansion that began under Yushchenko, grew under Yanukovich, and included lethal human experiments under Zelensky. He portrays the Ukrainian government as complicit through inaction, failing to shut down the labs due to fear of US retaliation.

Russian Military Officials

Major General Alexey Rtishchev's statements, as reported by TASS, affirm that US-funded laboratories in Ukraine researched dangerous pathogens and that declassified documents prove US involvement, framing the labs as a biosecurity threat to Russia.

US Officials

Tulsi Gabbard, as quoted by TASS, acknowledges the potential global threat posed by research involving dangerous pathogens in US-backed biolaboratories abroad, but does not address the specific allegations of experiments or deaths in Ukraine.