Russia accused the US of experimenting with ‘bat coronavirus samples’ and developing biological weapons in Ukraine, but provided no evidence, as Moscow attempted to justify its brutal invasion.
The Kremlin’s accusation comes after the White House warned yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use chemical or biological weapons in the country and that such accusations were being used as a “false flag” to justify their use.
In a televised briefing, Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that “the purpose of this – and other Pentagon-funded biological research in Ukraine – was to establish a mechanism for the stealthy spread of deadly pathogens.”
According to Konashenkov, the ministry obtained documents detailing US military-biological activities in Ukraine, including the movement of Ukrainians’ biomaterial abroad.
Washington, he said, ‘planned to conduct research on bird, bat, and reptile pathogens, as well as African swine fever and anthrax.’
‘Biolaboratories established and funded in Ukraine have been experimenting with bat coronavirus samples,’ Konashenkov added, again without elaborating.
Both Washington and Kiev have denied the existence of biological weapons laboratories in the country, which has been under Russian attack by tens of thousands of troops since February 24.
In 2018, Russia accused the US of secretly conducting biological experiments in a lab in Georgia, another former Soviet republic that, like Ukraine, aspires to join NATO and the European Union. This was widely disproved.
Jen Psaki called Russia’s claims that the U.S. is building bioweapon labs in Ukraine as ‘preposterous propaganda’. Russia has a history of gaslighting with its accusations against the West, and her comments were part of an ‘obvious ploy’ for Putin to continue bombing Ukraine. Russia has accused the US of having a network of bio-labs in Ukraine. The US has denied having such a network. Russia has a track record of accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating – chemical and biological weapons against its enemies.
