MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Russian Defense Ministry obtained information about US Project UP-4 on research of particularly dangerous infections of migrating birds, including H5N1 flu and Newcastle disease, which had been developed in Ukrainian biological laboratories, head of Russian Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Igor Kirillov said Thursday.

According to Kirillov, Russian Defense Ministry continues to study the materials on military biological programs, carried out by the US and its NATO allies in Ukraine, and the data obtained from various sources confirm the leading role of the US Department of Defense’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) in funding and carrying out military biological researches in Ukraine.

"We’ve discovered details about Project UP-4, implemented with involvement of laboratories in Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, and planned for period until 2020. The project’s goal was to research a potential of spread of particularly dangerous infections via migrating birds, including the highly pathogenic H5N1 flu, whose lethality for humans can reach 50%, as well as Newcastle disease," Kirillov said.

According to Kirillov, due to Ukraine having a unique geographical location, where transcontinental migration routes intersect, a total of 145 species were studied.

"At least two species of migrating birds were discovered, whose migration routes go predominantly over Russian territory. At the same time, [the project] summarized data on migration of birds over Eastern Europe," Kirillov said.