This article was first published by Truthmeter.mk (North Macedonia), within the framework of Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Project.
The fact is, there are no secret US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. In an effort to support this conspiracy theory, Russia has been leaking various versions of it, some of which have already been debunked by Truthmeter.mk. Since no evidence of these laboratories exists, any claim of US funding is baseless.
The former Head of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defence Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Igor Kirilov, devoted much attention to the disclosure of the US military-biological activities. Kirillov was talking about Pentagon labs in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and all around the perimeter of Russia’s borders. The general focused on the extremely dangerous pathogens that are being worked on in these labs, the danger of their leakage, and what threats that leakage could pose. Kirillov also revealed the names of senior Americans involved in these activities, including the son of former US President Hunter Biden, Russian media outlets reported, says the text shared in the post, among other points.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, false claims started circulating on social networks that Russian President Vladimir Putin was targeting US-run biological weapons labs in the neighboring country. Allegations of a network of such labs along Russia’s border were spread by Russian state media outlets in the weeks leading up to the invasion.
False claims from Russia about the alleged use of bioweapons by the United States are not new and Truthmeter.mk has already written on this topic.
This disinformation, produced in the Kremlin kitchen, has been circulating for years. This claim has been used at various times, such as during reports of poisonings by Russian agents, such as the Skripal poisoning, to distract the public from Russia’s own use of chemical weapons.
Allegations claiming the United States is developing biological weapons in Ukraine date back to at least 2018.
The truth is that there are no US-owned bio-laboratories on the territory of Ukraine, and this has been debunked on several occasions, both by global fact-checking services and by Truthmeter.mk.
Truthmeter.mk already wrote about the statements of Igor Kirilov, Colonel General, Head of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defence Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation made at a briefing in May 2022. Kirillov then stated:
It should be said that the ideologues of the US military biological research in Ukraine are leaders of the Democratic Party. The US government established a way to fund military bio-research directly from the federal budget, but also used government guarantees to raise funds from NGOs controlled by the Democratic Party leadership.
As examples of such organizations, he presented a slide with the names of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton [Bill and Hillary] Foundation, the Open Society Foundations of George Soros, The Rockefeller Foundation, the EcoHealth Alliance and the Rosemont Seneca Partners of Hunter Biden. Kirilov also named Pfizer, Moderna, Merck, and Gilead as “big pharmaceutical companies” involved in this scheme, using it to test drugs while circumventing international safety standards.
There is no evidence for such claims by Moscow, nor are they supported by any facts. There is no official confirmation from the Ukrainian authorities, nor from any other official party.
Social media posts claiming the US has biological laboratories in Ukraine misinterpret the 2005 US-Ukraine agreement, which aims to prevent biological threats, not create them. According to the Security Service of Ukraine–the country’s main security agency, the laboratories mentioned on social networks are owned and funded by the Ukrainian government.
Under the August 2005 Agreement, the Ukrainian and US governments have agreed to cooperate to “prevent the proliferation of dangerous pathogens and related expertise and to minimize potential biological threats”.
We emphasize that these laboratories are financed from the state budget, are subordinate to the Ministry of Health and the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the SBU said.
The purpose of the laboratories in Ukraine is to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and they are part of the Development Program for reducing the risks and dangers of diseases, as “Truthmeter.mk” has already written.
Truthmeter.mk has also written about the Russian government’s accusations that Georgia is conducting secret experiments at the Richard Lugar laboratory, which, according to Russia, is funded by the United States, the Pentagon. According to Russia, Georgia is conducting “experiments on the use of insects as vectors of dangerous diseases” in this laboratory. Russia’s campaign against the Richard Lugar Laboratory is not new and has been going on for years.
The fact is, there are no secret US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. In an effort to support this conspiracy theory, Russia has been leaking various versions of it, some of which have already been debunked by Truthmeter.mk. Since no evidence of these laboratories exists, any claim of US funding is baseless.
Taking all of this into account, we assess the post as untrue.
