MOSCOW, June 16 /TASS/. A branch of a US laboratory in Ukraine tested neuromodulators on socially unprotected people, which caused irreversible damage to the central nervous system (CNS), the chief of the radiation, chemical and biological protection force Igor Kirillov told a news briefing on Thursday.

"As follows from the available evidence, highly active substances were tested on socially unprotected Ukrainian citizens. The neuromodulators caused, among other things, irreversible damage to the central nervous system," Kirillov said, adding that this was a violation of international human rights treaties.

He stressed that in Ukraine the rights defined by the Nuremberg Code and the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki were violated, including the individual’s voluntary consent to participate in an experiment, proper information about the ongoing study, prevention of unnecessary physical and mental suffering during the experiment, torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

Kirillov said that a branch of the Merefa laboratory, built at the expense of the Pentagon in Sorokovka, the Kharkov Region, was equipped with underground storage facilities and powerful ventilation systems. Officially it was listed as a food additives manufacturer.

"At the same time, the company's website bears clear traces of forgery. With the start of the special military operation, the laboratory equipment was taken to the western regions of Ukraine under the control of the security service SBU," he added.