MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Flooding in the Kherson Region may lead to the formation of hot spots for mosquito-borne diseases, primarily West Nile fever, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, said.

"The flooding of territories in the Kherson region, which was planned by the Kiev regime, has the potential to complicate the situation, including in terms of arboviral infections. After the water level drops, the formation of hot spots of mosquito-borne diseases, primarily West Nile fever, is possible," he said during a briefing on military-related biological research activities by the US.

Kirillov emphasized that the US research has a pronounced orientation toward military applications. It is aimed at determining the most effective use of infected sanguivorous (blood-sucking) insects and ticks. "At the same time, the US is trying to use the territory of other countries as a testing ground for potential scenarios," he said.

The top military official pointed out that the high technical level of the US readiness to use infected carriers is demonstrated by the patent for a drone designed to spread infected mosquitoes in the air. "According to the [patent] description, the drone is supposed to deliver a container of insects to a specific area and release them. When biting [their hosts], the mosquitoes are capable of transmtting dangerous infections, such as malaria, to military serivicemen," Kirillov stated.

According to him, the patent description says that an infected serviceman is incapacitated, becoming unable to perform his combat tasks, and that such a method of infecting an enemy military force could have a significant impact.