TASS, April 11. The Russian State Duma approved on April 11, 2023 the parliamentary commission’s final report on US biolabs in Ukraine.
General information
According to Russia, the United States has stationed a network of biological laboratories in a number of Russia's neighboring states, where dangerous viruses and other pathogens are being worked on under the auspices of the US Defense Department. The US side insists that the labs serve the security interests of Washington and its allies, and refutes the idea that biological weapons may have been developed in these facilities.
What is known about US Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has operated as part of the US Department of Defense since 1998. This organization is in charge of countering threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (that is nuclear, chemical and biological weapons). It also develops measures and protection protocols for the US armed forces and population, as well as for its allies in case weapons of mass destruction are used.
The Pentagon has launched the Biological Threat Reduction Program and Cooperative Biological Engagement Program. Within their framework, the US concluded agreements with some countries on joint counteraction to the threat of especially dangerous infections (including infections "caused on purpose or by accident").
Russia’s concerns
The first to speak about the potential threat posed by US biological laboratories was Gennady Onishchenko, former head of Rospotrebnadzor (Russia’s sanitary watchdog). In 2011-2013, he repeatedly pointed out that the African swine fever virus, outbreaks of which have been recorded in 24 regions of the country since 2007, could have been brought to the country from Georgia.
On December 21, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed to adopt Russia's National Security Concept, which mentioned expanding the US military-biological laboratories network on the territories of the countries neighboring Russia. The document pointed to "uncertainty about instances of foreign states' possession of biological weapons and their potential for developing and producing them."
On October 4, 2018, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov said that the US had deployed a large military-biological program on the territory of the countries adjacent to Russia. According to the top brass, the laboratories’ goal was to "gather information on infectious diseases and export national samples with strains of pathogenic microorganisms capable, among other things, of fighting the effect of vaccines and being resistant to antibiotics".
The top military official assessed the existence of such biolabs, located on the territories adjacent to Russia and China, as "a constant source of biological threats to our countries."
On January 15, 2019, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said that according to his estimates, there are about 200 US "military-biological laboratories," and "their activities have little to do with peaceful science." Russia’s official position is backed by the Chinese authorities. On April 29, 2020, the Chinese Foreign Ministry pointed to the danger of the existence of US biolabs on the territory of the former USSR.
American biolabs in Ukraine
On August 29, 2005, the Ukrainian Health Ministry and the US Department of Defense signed an agreement on reducing biological threats. The document provided for the creation of a laboratory network in Ukraine specializing in identification of infectious disease agents. In August 2017, the CyberBerkut hacker group published an investigation, according to which since 2009, 19 US biolabs operating under the Ukrainian Health Ministry have been deployed. In 2020, Ukrainian opposition deputies asked the government to probe into the biolabs’ activities as since their appearance, the country started seeing outbreaks of dangerous diseases. In reply to their request, the US embassy to Kiev reported that the Biological Threat Reduction Program worked together with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure consolidated and secure storage of infectious pathogens and toxins in government facilities, so that they could also be studied for peace purposes and vaccines could be developed.
Data obtained by Russia during its special military operation in Ukraine
On March 6, 2022, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov reported that the Russian armed forces uncovered facts during the special military operation about the presence of a US-funded military-biological program. According to the top brass, the documents obtained confirm that the Ukrainian biolabs, located close to Russia’s borders, were developing biological weapons components.
Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov presented a report, according to which a network of over 20 US biolabs had been deployed on the territory of Ukraine. The labs, according to him, could be divided into research and sanitary-epidemiological facilities. The report pointed out that DTRA was responsible for the work unfolding there. According to the Defense Ministry, the labs worked in three areas: biological situation monitoring, selection and transfer of strains and biomaterials, including those received from the military, and research on potential bioweapons agents, specific to the region.
According to Kirillov, on February 24, 2022, on the day of the start of Russia’s special military operation, the Ukrainian Health Minister ordered the laboratories to completely destroy any bioagents being stored there. The top brass noted that the activity of biological laboratories had led to an uncontrolled rise in the incidence of especially dangerous infections in Ukraine, including rubella, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and measles.
The Russian Defense Ministry revealed that the US allocated some 200 million dollars to fund this program.
Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov later said that the foundations headed by George Soros and Hunter Biden (the son of incumbent US President Joe Biden) were involved in the financing of 30 Ukrainian biolabs in 14 settlements.
On November 3, 2022, the UN Security Council rejected Russia’s draft resolution to create a UN Security Council commission to probe into US biolabs activities in Ukraine. Russia and China supported the resolution, but the UK, the US, and France opposed it. The other Security Council members - Albania, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and the UAE abstained.
On December 24, 2022, on the sidelines of the 9th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention in Geneva, the Russian Defense Ministry held a briefing where it presented evidence that Ukraine, with the US’ support, was working with bioweapons components.
On March 10, 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry published the names of Ukrainian companies and state institutions’ representatives involved in the implementation of the US’ military-biological programs. According to Kirillov, the Russian Investigative Committee is now looking into the involvement of over ten US citizens in these programs, as well as a number of Ukrainian officials.
Reaction of Ukraine and US
On March 7, 2022, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that the country was not developing biological weapons. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland acknowledged that there were indeed facilities in Ukraine dealing with biological research, and that Washington was trying to make sure they didn’t fall into the hands of the Russian forces.
On March 10, 2022, US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told a briefing that statements about the US’ alleged development of biological weapons in Ukrainian laboratories were "classic Russian propaganda" and urged not to believe them.
On January 31, 2023, he told reporters at a briefing that the US considered Russia’s statements about the work of American biolabs in Ukraine to be unfounded.
Russian parliamentary commission
The Russian parliamentary commission probing into US biolabs in Ukraine has been in operation since March 2022. The committee is made up of 14 deputies and 14 lawmakers. It is co-chaired by Deputy speaker of the State Duma (lower parliament house) Irina Yarovaya and deputy speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev. On March 22, 2023, a final committee meeting took place at the State Duma, with the conclusions of the parliamentary investigation made public. The participants to the meeting adopted the final report, which will be published later after its approval by the two chambers of the parliament. The commission concluded that the US biological programs were dual-purpose, and were intended for military purposes. US and NATO military facilities were set up in Ukraine under the guise of biological laboratories.