DISINFO: The US was developing biological weapons against certain ethnic groups in Ukraine
SUMMARY
In Ukraine, the United States was engaged in the development of biological weapons against certain ethnic groups.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about biological weapons.
The conspiracy theory about alleged US biolabs in countries bordering Russia aiming to encircle Moscow and spread infectious diseases is a part of a years-long disinformation campaign led by the Kremlin.
The claim is one of the many attempts to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There are no US biological warfare laboratories in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the states cooperating in the US Department of Defence's Biological Threat Reduction Programme (BTRP): the goal of the BTRP is to safeguard global health by preventing and containing the outbreak of infectious diseases and establishing high international standards in biological security.
The US Department of State has stated that "The US does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine, it is in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention. As we have said all along, Russia is inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine."
See similar cases claiming that the "US creates ethnic weapons against Russians and Slavs in its biolabs", that US military biological laboratories encircle Russia, or US tests ethnic weapons against Slavs in its biolabs in Ukraine.
See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.