The tragic death of Alexei Navalny (who is still alive) is in the interest of the West to spark a new wave of sanctions and black PR against Russia. If Putin had feared Navalny, he would get rid of him in a more acceptable way a long time ago.
Summary
The coronavirus pandemic should prompt many civilian institutions to take a fresh look at the Pentagon’s bio-labs. The first and only protest to date has taken place in Ukraine. There are 15 laboratories in this country, in which the United States sponsors biological research. Nobody builds biological facilities that run on dangerous toxins and pathogens in densely populated areas. But the Americans went even further, not only to transfer their laboratories from their densely populated areas, but to transfer them to other countries. Such laboratories close to the Russian border are simply pushing the Americans into dangerous experiments. And the existence of unfriendly countries like Ukraine and Georgia fuels this desire.
Disproof
This is a recurring conspiracy theory alleging that the United States develops biological weapons around the world, consistent with the Pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign against biological laboratories in Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and other countries. The conspiracy about US biolabs in countries bordering Russia aiming to encircle Moscow and spread infectious diseases is a part of a years-long disinformation campaign led by the Kremlin. In fact, biological laboratories are involved in preventing the risks of complex diseases and, together with other similar projects, counteracting bioterrorism. In Ukraine, the claim often refers to the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), which is an intergovernmental organisation established in an international agreement in 1993. Its mission is to support civilian science, technology partnerships and collaboration through chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear risk mitigation. The projects of STCU partners include research on adjuvant for improvement of cancer vaccines, detecting trace impurities in biological tissues, human vision diagnostics, and therapy among many others. In Georgia, it is the Richard Lugar Centre for Public Health Research, which is a facility of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC). It is a top-tiered institution in NCDC’s laboratory network and serves as a reference laboratory for Georgia’s public health system. Read more about the disinformation campaign surrounding the Lugar Laboratory on Myth Detector. Furthermore, the US Department of Defence’s Biological Threat Reduction Programme collaborates with partner countries to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases. Read a similar case that the US tests biological weapons on Ukrainians to further attack Russia.