MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Ukrainian special services may be planning to stage false flag operations with the use of biological weapons, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov warned.

According to the general, the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), the key distributor of grants issued by the Pentagon, resumed operations in Kiev earlier this year, and a training on response to biological threats was held at the Galitsky National Medical University in Lvov with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and STCU mediation in August-September.

"We would like to note the presence of representative of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine at the training," Kirillov told a briefing. The event was held behind closed doors which could imply Ukrainian intel services potentially planning to carry out false flag operations with the use of biological weapons, he insisted.

Among other attendees, Kirillov said, Filippa Lentzos, member of the UK Biosecurity Steering Board, participated in the training as moderator. According to him, over the past few years, Lentzos has been active in publishing materials aimed at discrediting Russia on biosecurity issues in the international arena.

Also attending was Oksana Kucheryava, Head of Communications at the Public Health Centre of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, who manages projects for governmental organizations in Ukraine and the USA and is responsible for media planning, Kirillov added.

He also mentioned the attendance of Irina Demchishina, the head of the reference laboratory for the diagnosis of viral and highly dangerous pathogens, at the event. "Earlier we noted that Demchishina acted as an intermediary in interaction with Pentagon contractors Black & Veatch and Metabiota, and supervised the implementation of DTRA projects in Ukraine," the high-ranking Russian military official said.

The scenario of the training included the use of a virus of high pathogen avian flu which has the potential of causing a transspecies outbreak and is highly lethal for humans. According to the program of the training, Kirillov said, Ukraine’s Nikolayev Region registers cases of this infectious disease, after which samples are collected and analyzed.

"As a result, a conclusion is made that the incident was `highly likely’ caused by Russian bio-sabotage. News of an outbreak gets coverage in mass media, mostly Western media outlets," Kirillov said. A probe may later be initiated involving the mandate of the UN Secretary General with a view to discrediting Russia and imposing additional sanctions on it, he concluded.