MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The biological program in Ukraine began under former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, when the first seven biological laboratories were established, Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the Other Ukraine movement and former leader of the banned Opposition Platform - For Life party, wrote in an article published on the movement’s website.
Medvedchuk stressed that the biological program, in its known form, was launched under a specific Ukrainian administration. "That was during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko and the government of Yulia Timoshenko. <...> Under Viktor Yushchenko, the foundation for the entire system was laid. Following the signing of the 2005 agreement (Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Area of Prevention of Proliferation of Technology, Pathogens and Expertise That Could Be Used In the Development of Biological Weapons - TASS), the modernization of the first laboratories in Kiev, Odessa, and Lvov started. During this period, at least seven facilities were built or modernized, which made it possible to launch a further expansion of the program," he wrote.
According to Medvedchuk, the agreement signed between the Pentagon and the Ukrainian Health Ministry provided for the collection and storage of dangerous pathogens in laboratories on Ukrainian territory, funded by the US, and required the Ukrainian side to provide the US with copies of any strains requested by the US "for further research."