In a fact sheet written in March, but posted online on June 9, the Pentagon admitted to having paid since 2005 “about 200 million dollars to Ukraine” with the aim of participating in the development of “46 laboratories, healthcare facilities and diagnostic sites” in relation to pathogen research and biological monitoring. The Department of Defense specifies that these are “peaceful” laboratories.
Although it is stated in this document that the infrastructures in question were financed “for human and animal health”, within the framework of a “biological threat reduction programme”, this is nevertheless an admission somewhat Unsurprisingly, since in March 2022 the Department of Defense called Russian accusations of US involvement in biological research facilities on Ukrainian soil “absurd,” Reuters news agency reported.
A discredit which the mainstream press had largely sounded off by calling it a “conspiracy theory”, like Le Monde, which headlined: “American laboratories in Ukraine: the origins of a conspiracy theory” . Allegations for the newspaper which were not based “on any evidence”.
In this recent Pentagon briefing note, the US administration still argues that Russia is “spreading disinformation daily” about it “by falsely claiming that US defense support [en la matière] is used to develop biological weapons”. “Unlike Russia, the United States and Ukraine do not develop biological weapons and are in full compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention,” argues the US Department of Defense.
Information that is part of a theme about which Moscow and Washington accuse each other of developing biological laboratories for military purposes.
Development of “biological weapons”: accusations from both sides
On March 3, in a television interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed this issue in these terms: “We have data that the Pentagon is very concerned about the fate of chemical and biological facilities in Ukraine. Because the Pentagon built two military biological laboratories in Ukraine and worked there on the development of pathogens in kyiv and Odessa. Currently, they are afraid of losing control of these laboratories,” he said. And to emphasize: [Les Américains refusent] categorically to create a verification mechanism within the framework of the convention on the prohibition of biological weapons […] and they are building biological military sites along the perimeter of Russia.”
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As a reminder, if their existence had initially been denied, the American Under-Secretary of State Victoria Nuland had come to confirm the existence of these bio-laboratories on Ukrainian soil during a hearing on March 8 before the Foreign Affairs Committee. of the United States Senate: “Ukraine has biological research facilities. We fear that the Russian troops, that the Russian forces will seek to take control of it, ”Victoria Nuland told Senator Marco Rubio during this hearing. And to add: “We are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent this research material from falling into the hands of Russian forces if they approach. »
See also: US confirms existence of biological labs in Ukraine, Russia demands answers
If the United States had therefore ended up recognizing in March the existence of “biological research facilities”, affirming however that they have no military aims, Washington had for its part accused Moscow of wanting to carry out a chemical or biological attack in Ukraine.
On March 9, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, demanded that Washington provide an explanation to the world, reported Newsmax. Just over 24 hours after Victoria Nuland’s hearing, also on March 9, that hadn’t stopped White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki from calling the Russian accusations a ‘false allegation’ again. and “conspiracy theory”.
But on March 26, it was this time the New York Post which added a layer of it: “The Russian assertions according to which the son of President Joe Biden, Hunter, is in the process of financing biological laboratories are true”, wrote the newspaper. American. In a column, Teresita Dussart, journalist for FranceSoir, wrote that “this information could open onto the biggest scandal of the century, forcing to put into perspective all the events since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis”.
See also: US confirms existence of biological labs in Ukraine, Russia demands answers