Disinfo: The Pentagon aims to test biological weapons on people in Ukraine

Summary

During the special military operation, Russian servicemen received more than 20,000 documents and reference and analytical materials and interviewed eyewitnesses and participants in American military biological programmes.

These materials confirm the Pentagon's focus on creating biological weapon components and testing them on the population of Ukraine and other states along the perimeter of (Russia's) borders.

Disproof

The article promotes a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about biological weapons being secretly developed by the US in countries bordering Russia. This narrative is a leitmotif in a years-old disinformation campaign conducted by the Kremlin and is currently deployed in an attempt to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Some of the most bizarre and yet enduring Kremlin disinformation narratives have been those accusing the West of running clandestine biological research programmes to wreak havoc around the world. In reality, all laboratories located in Ukraine are controlled by the Ukrainian government. In August 2005, the US and Ukrainian governments made an agreement to prevent the spread of dangerous pathogens and relevant expertise and to diminish potential biological risks. Partially, this agreement was aimed at modernising state laboratories in Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and other regions, consisting of upgrading lab equipment and repairs of premises.

The US Embassy in Ukraine previously addressed the claims about supposed bio-military labs in Ukraine, stating that this is a fabricated accusation in pro-Kremlin propaganda that aims to hinder the ongoing U.S.-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats. The accusations are part of the Kremlin’s broader, long-lasting disinformation campaign to discredit the US in the eyes of Putin’s pro-Western neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine.

More cases concerning bio-military labs in Ukraine include: new evidence of US military-biological activity in Ukraine; the US has biological military activity in dozens of countries; the US created COVID-19 and biological weapons in Ukraine.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 328
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30/01/2023
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia, US
  • Keywords: Biological weapons, laboratory, Lugar Laboratory, Conspiracy theory
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This disinformation claim was broadcast on the date mentioned above. Due to the EU decisions  to temporarily restrict the spread and dissemination of RT, Sputnik and other instruments used to manipulate information and promote disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.
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Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Kyiv of using nuclear power plants as a shield for launching attacks. This claim was made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

In reality, it is Russia which deployed artillery systems, rocket launchers, tanks and personnel carriers at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, turning it into a military base. Russian troops did it purposefully to prevent a Ukrainian counterattack. Russia also rejected calls from the UN for a demilitarised zone around the plant. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has warned about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider has shown that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armoured vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors.

Disinfo: Ukraine violates the laws of war, stores weapons in nuclear plants

Over the course of 11 months, the special military operation has demonstrated that Ukraine willfully ignores and violates the laws of war. From the first days, Ukrainian forces have been sheltering with the civilian population, deploying tanks and artillery in residential areas.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, the Donetsk Republic and Luhansk, they are drawing in more lethal weapons [...] and they deliberately store them on the territory of nuclear power plants. [...] any accident at a nuclear power plant would give Kyiv a reason to accuse Russia of being the "nuclear threat to Europe". This is because the task of Ukraine is to drag NATO into a direct confrontation with Russia by means of such provocative actions.

Disproof

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Washington assumes that the weakening of the EU military capabilities would remove the “temptation” of the European politicians to solve their own security problems.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the alleged lost sovereignty of the Europe, the EU and its member states (more examples). Pro-Kremlin outlets often portray European states as vassals, puppet states or colonies of the US and NATO.

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