Russia’s claims are partial truths that may have been overinterpreted or distorted. According to the expert, the diseases developed against “ethnically Slavs” seem completely hypothetical.
Russian the Ministry of Defense has repeatedly made serious allegations that Ukraine is developing biological weapons against Russia in secret laboratories.
According to the wildest allegations, Ukraine and the United States would have investigated weapons aimed at destroying “ethnically Slavs”. Russia sees this as a sign that Ukraine is a threat to Russia’s existence.
Speeches on bio-weapons have been disseminated, for example, by a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov and the Director of the Armed Forces Igor Kirillov. The RHB specialty department, which he heads, is responsible for protection against weapons of mass destruction.
A four-minute video of Kirillov’s press conference was released on March 7 by the Russian Ministry of Defense With a Youtube account.
Kirillov, who is serious and dressed in military uniforms, is teeming with ominous-sounding terms such as “military-biological programs” and “potential biological weapons”.
HS read Kirillov’s claims and clarified their credibility. HS examined the documents displayed in the background of the press conference with an expert in biology and medicine from Russia and Ukraine.
In addition, HS interviewed the director of the research department of the Center for Military Medicineprofessor Simo Nikkariawho comments on the topic at a general level.
According to the HS report, at least some of the documents raised by Russia can be confirmed as authentic and most of the people and organizations mentioned in them exist. However, Kirillov’s claims are mostly partial truths that may have been overinterpreted or distorted.
There is no evidence of diseases developed against “ethnically Slavs” or any other biological weapons.
Biological weapons may be, for example, infectious diseases intended to injure or kill people. Their use is prohibited by an international agreement to which Ukraine and Russia are both parties.
Before retrieving Kirillov’s allegations from the Russian authorities, a few general observations should be made.
As Kirillov talks about the papers, official-looking documents and maps are displayed in his background. The materials are not usually described in detail and the sources are not mentioned. For example, the beginning of the video shows an image of a map of Ukraine full of biohazard symbols to mark the location of laboratories.
However, not all documents have official stamps or signatures. This makes it difficult to find out the facts. Some of the claims can be true, some can be anything.
Russian the allegations reiterate the assumption that behind all the intrigue is the United States, which through the Pentagon would have charged millions of dollars for suspicious military investigations in Ukraine.
The United States is committed to helping Ukraine eliminate weapons of mass destruction by mutual agreement in 1993. For example, the United States has supported programwhich will help Ukraine leave behind Soviet-era biological threats.
It is also no secret that the United States supports and funds epidemiological laboratory activities in Ukraine – as in many other countries.
One of Kirillov’s main allegations is that on February 24, Ukraine ordered the destruction of dangerous “bioagents” stored in laboratories. On the morning of the same day, Russia began its attack on Ukraine.
The first page of a copy of a document presented by the Russian authorities ordering the President of Ukraine to eradicate “biological pathogens”. HS was unable to confirm the authenticity of the document.
As proof, Kirillov presents a copy of an order issued by the President of Ukraine to the Ministry of Health dated 24 February. The order includes the Minister of Health Viktor Lyashon name, but the authenticity of the document could not be verified.
According to Kirillov, the disposal order has been issued to laboratories in Lviv, Kharkiv and Poltava. Of these, official documents are presented, and the Poltava Order also has signatures. At least one of the signatories certainly belongs to the laboratory staff.
The order to eradicate bacterial strains from Poltava lists, among other things, the pathogens of diphtheria, which are also preserved in Russia. In addition, the list includes, for example, staphylococcal and coliform bacteria.
This is the end of the Russian evidence. The papers mainly describe conventional collections of pathogens as well as routine laboratory operations. There is no indication of the development of biological weapons.
Russia has also intercepted reports that the World Health Organization has called on Ukraine to eradicate “high-risk pathogens”. News agency Reuters and BBC reported on the WHO recommendation in March.
According to the WHO, this has been a precautionary measure. The organization says it has been instructing Ukraine for years in case pathogens get rid of “accidentally or intentionally”.
Although Indeed, Kirillov talks about “potential biogas,” most of the papers he presents refer to fairly common pathogens such as coliform bacteria and staphylococci. They can cause inflammation or food poisoning in humans, for example.
Indeed, many of the bacterial cultures are commercially available from microbiological laboratories – in fact, the same diphtheria strains also preserved in Russia.
According to a copy of the documents presented by Kirillov, it was ordered in Lviv to destroy more than 320 tanks of dangerous pathogens such as anthrax.
“The nomenclature of the pathogens and the considerable number suggest that the work was related to military-biological programs,” Kirillov concludes.
The picture shows the first page of a pathogen eradication order dated 24 February addressed to a laboratory in Lviv. The list lists the pathogens of leptospirosis, anthrax, brucellosis and rabies, among others.
His interpretation is that the aim was to prevent the collections from falling into Russian hands, as otherwise the illegal actions of Ukraine and the United States would have come to light.
An analysis of the document shows that the order concerns a bacteriological laboratory that is part of the Lviv Regional Center for Disease Prevention. According to their website the department conducts public health research on various pathogens. These include polioviruses and several animal diseases.
However, there is nothing in the document, information provided by the Kirillov department, or public sources to suggest that the pathogens were being studied in Ukraine for military purposes.
Professor Simo Nikkari says unequivocally that there are no indications of the development of biological weapons in modern Ukraine.
“Ukrainian laboratories support their own public health preparedness for communicable diseases. The technical level of the laboratories has been tuned in that way. ”
The reason for the destruction of microbial strains may be in biosecurity, which is designed to prevent dangerous pathogens from falling into the wrong hands. The laboratory could also be destroyed, for example in a war situation, in which case the environment could be polluted.
The security classifications of the laboratories are divided into categories 1 to 4, and in the fourth category the security arrangements are the strictest. Nikkari points out that in Ukraine there is no such laboratory.
“If biological weapons are developed, the highest level of security is needed to secure scientists.”
The UN Security Council and the UN-led WHO could intervene in the development of biological weapons if the suspicions were justified. To date, the UN has not reported such a threat.
“If Russia really thinks that biological weapons have been developed in Ukraine, there are international mechanisms and prohibition agreements through which complaints can be made.”
One One of the most frequent allegations by the Russian authorities is that Ukraine was preparing a biological weapon against “ethnic Slavs”. This has also been widely reported In the Russian media.
According to Kirillov, serum samples were taken from “ethnically Slavic” people and taken from Ukraine to the United States. At the second press conference, he claimedthat the United States has “most likely” produced bioagents that can be targeted at “different ethnic groups”.
The allegations may be based on references to a number of unrelated studies. The most important of them is probably made by volunteer Ukrainian conscripts researchwhich investigated the spread of hantaviruses and Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever.
Although blood samples were taken from conscripts, the results of the study were reportedly unrelated to military programs. No evidence has been provided for the export of samples to the United States.
Also, “Slavic ethnicity” or other similar terms are not mentioned in any of the documents made public by the Kirillov branch.
Ethnically According to Simo Nikkar, targeted biological weapons are completely hypothetical and theoretical.
In order to make such a weapon, one would have to find some hereditary trait that would distinguish Ukrainians and Russians, for example.
“In my view, this is impossible. Such speculations have been reported in other contexts in the past, but in general, the development of ethnic bio-weapons is a long way off. ”
For the allegations to be true, Kirillov and the Russian Ministry of Defense would have to have some secret information that is not presented at the press conferences. Alternatively, the lack of evidence could mean the claims are nonsense.
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