DISINFO: Russia presented evidence of US biolabs in Ukraine at the Convention on Biological Weapons
SUMMARY
The US did indeed work in the creation of biological weapons in Ukraine. Russia, who has been denouncing this for a long time, delivered real documents and material evidence confirming this criminal activity to countries signatories of the Convention on Biological Weapons in a summit that took place on 5-9 September at the request of Moscow. None of the delegations doubted of the authenticity of the evidences presented by Russia.
RESPONSE
Russian unfounded allegations about US-funded biolaboratories in Ukraine for military purposes have been repeatedly debunked, including by the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, but pro-Kremlin outlets and Russian authorities continue promoting this disinformation narratives.
Contrary to what this disinformation story claims, multiple members of the Convention on Biological Weapons who took part in the September meeting did express their rejection of Russia’s baseless claims. These allegations are part of a years-old disinformation campaign conducted by the Kremlin, and is currently deployed in an attempt to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
In reality, all laboratories located in Ukraine are controlled by the Ukrainian government and don’t carry out military research. 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.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that new evidence of US military-biological activity emerged in Ukraine, that disease outbreaks in Ukraine are linked to the activity of US biolabs, that Zelenskyy ordered the destruction of evidence regarding the development of biological weapons, or that bio-experiments in US labs turned Ukrainian soldiers into ‘most cruel monsters’.