MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The US Walter Reed Army Institute of Research studied the Ukrainian army personnel’s blood for antibiotic resistance, which is evidence that the United States viewed Ukraine as a bridgehead for deploying a NATO military contingent, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov said on Friday.
"The documents that we have at our disposal confirm the participation of the Walter Reed Institute in studying the antibiotic resistance of microorganisms extracted from the Ukrainian army personnel during combat operations in Donbass in 2014-2020," the general told a briefing on the US military biological activity.
Under this project, the Walter Reed Institute studied 813 microorganisms obtained from 162 patients, conducted whole-genome sequencing of 52 isolates at four Ukrainian military hospitals in various parts of the country, Kirillov said.
"What is the reason for the US Army Institute to study the drug resistance of microorganisms extracted on Donbass territory? This is yet another piece of evidence that the United States viewed Ukrainian territory as a bridgehead for deploying NATO military contingents," the general said.
The institute’s representatives supervised military-biological projects organized by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to gather Ukrainian nationals’ biomaterials. In particular, over 800 blood samples were collected under the U-P-1 program under the pretext of studying the spread of tick-borne infections, he said.
"The documents obtained during the special military operation evidence that over several years the institute took part in Ukrainian personnel training under the biological threat reduction program. Epidemiology Division Head Robert Lipnick and his subordinates were involved in the training of Ukrainian specialists," Kirillov stressed.
Global control system
The US Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is a core part of the global biological control system (EIDSS). It also integrates US Army and Navy laboratories and observation stations located at US military bases in various regions of the world, the chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops said.
"Equipping biological facilities on the territory of other countries with such systems enables the United States both to ensure the safety of its military contingents at their stationing places and remotely control the activity of bio labs outside the national jurisdiction," the general explained.