https://www.rt.com/russia/552177-ukrain ... -military/
17 Mar, 2022 19:30
Russia presents new evidence from US-funded Ukraine biolabs
Pentagon-backed facilities made “biological weapons components” and tried to cover it up, Russian military says
Moscow believes that laboratories in Ukraine funded by the US military were making biological weapons components, but that local staff was being kept in the dark about their research, a senior Russian general said on Thursday.
Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, who commands the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces of Russia, presented documents and imagery showing why the military has come to such a conclusion.
“We believe that components of biological weapons were being made on the territory of Ukraine,” said Kirillov.
He noted that the documents he was presenting “have the signatures of real officials and are certified by the seals of organizations,” for those journalists and experts in the West doubting their veracity.
One document, dated March 6, 2015 confirms the “direct participation of the Pentagon in the financing of military biological projects in Ukraine,” Kirillov said. The US officially funded the projects through the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, according to the Agreement on Joint Biological Activities. However, the evidence shows that the real recipients of some $32 million in funds were Ukrainian Defense Ministry laboratories in Kiev, Odessa, Lvov and Kharkov.
These facilities were chosen by the US Department of Defense’s Threat Reduction Administration (DTRA), and the contractor Black and Veatch, to carry out the U-P-8 project, aimed at studying the pathogens of Crimea-Congo hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, and hantaviruses, Kirillov said, pointing to a slide with the Pentagon’s request.
“From our point of view, the interest of US military biologists is due to the fact that these pathogens have natural foci both in Ukraine and in Russia, and their use can be disguised as natural disease outbreaks,” the general said.
According to the evidence, the labs isolated three bacterial pathogens (causing plague, brucellosis and leptospirosis) and six families of viruses, including coronaviruses, all of which were drug-resistant and spread rapidly from animals to humans. A number of documents confirmed the samples taken in Ukraine to other countries – Georgia, Germany, and the UK.
Kirillov showed official documents confirming the transfer of 5,000 samples of blood serum taken from Ukrainian citizens to the Pentagon-backed Richard Lugar center in Tbilisi, Georgia. Another 773 biological assays were transferred to the UK, while an agreement was signed for the transfer of “unlimited quantities” of infectious materials to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Germany’s leading center for animal diseases.
However, the analysis of the obtained evidence suggests that Ukrainian specialists were not aware of the potential risks of transferring these materials, and may have been kept in the dark about the true goal of the ongoing research, Kirillov noted.
Documents from Project P-781, a study of ways of transmitting diseases to humans through bats, showed it was carried out by the Kharkov laboratory and the Lugar Center in Georgia, but Ukraine received most of the $1.6 million grant for the project. Kirillov said that “systematic” research in this area has been carried out since 2009, under the supervision of US specialists – referencing projects P-382, P-444 and P-568.
As one of the key people involved, Kirillov named the head of the DTRA office at the US Embassy in Kiev, Joanna Wintrol.
“Maybe she’s worth talking to, journalists?” he said.
Wintrol left Kiev in August 2020. In her parting interview, she insisted no US scientists worked in Ukrainian biolabs and accused Russia of spreading “false information” about the program.
Kirillov pointed to mass outbreaks of avian flu in Russia and the EU in 2021, causing billions in damages, while the Kharkov Institute of Veterinary Medicine was studying wild birds as transmission vectors and assessing conditions under which the spread could cause economic damage and food insecurity. Evidence now shows the institute collected strains of avian flu capable of jumping species, Kirillov said, calling for an international investigation into the matter.
Some of the documents at the Kherson laboratory appear to be missing and may have been destroyed, Kirillov said, suggesting it was related to the 2018 outbreak of a mosquito-borne parasitic disease in that region, and a possible cover-up.
Four cases of dirofilariasis were detected in February that year, which is not typical for mosquito life cycles, the general said. Pentagon representatives visited the local hospitals in April, collecting medical records and getting briefed on the epidemiological investigation. However, “no documentary evidence regarding this outbreak has been found in the Kherson laboratory,” leading the Russian military to believe that “the urgency of destroying such documentary evidence is explained by the desire to prevent access to them by Russian specialists.”
There was also an outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis in 2018, among the citizens of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, with 70 cases detected around the village of Pesky – on the frontline with Ukrainian troops – alone.
“This may indicate a deliberate infection, or an accidental leakage of the pathogen from one of the biological laboratories located on the territory of Ukraine,” Kirillov said.
The Russian general brought up the long history of US conducting banned biological research in other countries, noting as an example that in 2010 Washington apologized for syphilis experiments in Guatemala.
“We will continue to examine the evidence and inform the global community about the illegal activities of the Pentagon and other US government agencies in Ukraine,” Kirillov said.
what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://medium.com/u-s-embassy-kyiv/u-s ... 5d7d62c46b
Embassy of the United States in Ukraine
Aug 17, 2020
U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Office Partners with Ukrainian Government to Keep Our Nations Safe
Joanna Wintrol, the head of U.S. Embassy Kyiv’s Defense Threat Reduction Office, works closely with Ukrainian partners to counter threats affecting the United States, Ukraine, and other nations. As her assignment at U.S. Embassy Kyiv comes to a close, Joanna shared her thoughts about her experience working in Ukraine.
Many people have heard of the U.S. Department of Defense, but the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency is perhaps less familiar. What does your organization do?
DTRA focuses on countering threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We focus on the full range of WMD threats — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives. The organization also works to counter “improvised threats,” such as improvised explosive devices.
Countering these complicated threats effectively requires teamwork. That’s why DTRA officials like me work overseas at U.S. Embassies — to build strong partnerships with partners and allies to combat these threats and to exchange best practices and innovations in the fight against these threats.
What Ukrainian organizations have you collaborated with during your time here?
I’ve been working in Ukraine for the past five years, and throughout that time my team has been working closely with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defense, National Police, Security Service of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service, State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, and others. As you can see from this long list — we work quite closely with the Ukrainian authorities!
As one example, my team has arranged hands-on trainings for the National Police, Security Service of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service to strengthen our cooperation on the topic of “dual use” items. These are items that have a legitimate purpose, but if they fall into the hands of a bad actor, they could be used to create a dangerous weapon.
Our team also is working with Ukrainian experts — through training, facilities renovations, and provision of supplies — to enhance their capabilities to respond to nuclear incidents, secure information and communication mechanisms, and prevent illegal trafficking of nuclear materials outside of regulatory control.
What have been some of the biggest challenges during your time in Ukraine?
It’s been disappointing to see false allegations in recent months from some media outlets and commentators in Ukraine about our Biological Threat Reduction Program.
This program was created after the collapse of the Soviet Union to assist former Soviet states to secure and eliminate biological weapons and pathogens of concern that were collected and developed by the Soviet Union.
We work with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure dangerous pathogens and toxins that exist in Ukrainian government facilities. And we also fund peaceful research and vaccine development by Ukrainian scientists.
For over a decade, Russia has disseminated false information about this program, aiming to drive a wedge between the United States and Ukraine.
In reality, this is a joint program between our two nations, based in legal agreements. And all of the participating laboratories and institutions are controlled and managed by the Ukrainian government. No U.S. scientists work in these labs.
What’s an accomplishment you’re proud of during your time in Ukraine?
My team mobilized quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic to support to our Ukrainian partners. We provided four mobile laboratories to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to help respond to the pandemic, and provided experts to help the Public Health Center analyze the rapidly changing situation regarding the virus. We’ve also been glad to see our Ukrainian partners using personal protective equipment provided by DTRA to stay safe while carrying out their duties during the pandemic.
What will you miss about Ukraine?
It’s hard to give a short answer to this question! First of all, I’ll miss the Ukrainian partners with whom I’ve developed friendships and strong professional relationships over the years. Their dedication and professionalism in working to keep Ukraine safe has been inspiring. On a personal note, I’ll miss all the great restaurants, walking around Kyiv looking at the beautiful and eclectic buildings, and relaxing on one of the many city beaches. I’ll even miss the famous Ukraine winters! Although my tour here is coming to a close, I hope to have an opportunity to return to Ukraine soon, and I will never forget my stay here. Every time I look at my adopted Ukrainian street dog I will remember Kyiv and all the great times I have had.
Embassy of the United States in Ukraine
Aug 17, 2020
U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Office Partners with Ukrainian Government to Keep Our Nations Safe
Joanna Wintrol, the head of U.S. Embassy Kyiv’s Defense Threat Reduction Office, works closely with Ukrainian partners to counter threats affecting the United States, Ukraine, and other nations. As her assignment at U.S. Embassy Kyiv comes to a close, Joanna shared her thoughts about her experience working in Ukraine.
Many people have heard of the U.S. Department of Defense, but the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency is perhaps less familiar. What does your organization do?
DTRA focuses on countering threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We focus on the full range of WMD threats — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives. The organization also works to counter “improvised threats,” such as improvised explosive devices.
Countering these complicated threats effectively requires teamwork. That’s why DTRA officials like me work overseas at U.S. Embassies — to build strong partnerships with partners and allies to combat these threats and to exchange best practices and innovations in the fight against these threats.
What Ukrainian organizations have you collaborated with during your time here?
I’ve been working in Ukraine for the past five years, and throughout that time my team has been working closely with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defense, National Police, Security Service of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service, State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, and others. As you can see from this long list — we work quite closely with the Ukrainian authorities!
As one example, my team has arranged hands-on trainings for the National Police, Security Service of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service to strengthen our cooperation on the topic of “dual use” items. These are items that have a legitimate purpose, but if they fall into the hands of a bad actor, they could be used to create a dangerous weapon.
Our team also is working with Ukrainian experts — through training, facilities renovations, and provision of supplies — to enhance their capabilities to respond to nuclear incidents, secure information and communication mechanisms, and prevent illegal trafficking of nuclear materials outside of regulatory control.
What have been some of the biggest challenges during your time in Ukraine?
It’s been disappointing to see false allegations in recent months from some media outlets and commentators in Ukraine about our Biological Threat Reduction Program.
This program was created after the collapse of the Soviet Union to assist former Soviet states to secure and eliminate biological weapons and pathogens of concern that were collected and developed by the Soviet Union.
We work with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure dangerous pathogens and toxins that exist in Ukrainian government facilities. And we also fund peaceful research and vaccine development by Ukrainian scientists.
For over a decade, Russia has disseminated false information about this program, aiming to drive a wedge between the United States and Ukraine.
In reality, this is a joint program between our two nations, based in legal agreements. And all of the participating laboratories and institutions are controlled and managed by the Ukrainian government. No U.S. scientists work in these labs.
What’s an accomplishment you’re proud of during your time in Ukraine?
My team mobilized quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic to support to our Ukrainian partners. We provided four mobile laboratories to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to help respond to the pandemic, and provided experts to help the Public Health Center analyze the rapidly changing situation regarding the virus. We’ve also been glad to see our Ukrainian partners using personal protective equipment provided by DTRA to stay safe while carrying out their duties during the pandemic.
What will you miss about Ukraine?
It’s hard to give a short answer to this question! First of all, I’ll miss the Ukrainian partners with whom I’ve developed friendships and strong professional relationships over the years. Their dedication and professionalism in working to keep Ukraine safe has been inspiring. On a personal note, I’ll miss all the great restaurants, walking around Kyiv looking at the beautiful and eclectic buildings, and relaxing on one of the many city beaches. I’ll even miss the famous Ukraine winters! Although my tour here is coming to a close, I hope to have an opportunity to return to Ukraine soon, and I will never forget my stay here. Every time I look at my adopted Ukrainian street dog I will remember Kyiv and all the great times I have had.
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.rt.com/russia/552128-ukrain ... s-kharkov/
17 Mar, 2022 09:27
Russia promises more disclosures on Ukraine biolabs
Human samples from a Kharkov lab were evacuated to the UK and other European countries, the military claims
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday it will soon release additional documents pertaining to the operation of Pentagon-funded biolabs in Ukraine. Moscow believes they have been involved in bioweapons research.
Russian military specialists in weapons of mass destruction are analyzing documents obtained from staff members of the Ukrainian labs, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a daily briefing. He claimed they detailed “implementation by the US in Ukraine of a secret project to study the ways humans can be infected from bats,” which was done in Kharkov.
The official said the same Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in the Ukrainian city worked for years to study under which conditions wild birds carrying flu could cause an epidemic in humans and to assess the damage that would result.
Konashenkov didn’t explain why such research should be considered military in nature, as assessed by the defense ministry.
The spokesman further said more Ukrainian documents will soon be released on the transfer of human samples from Ukraine to the UK and other European nations. The materials will be accompanied by Russian military assessments of the work they detail, he said.
The Pentagon sponsors dozens of labs around the world under the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The work they do, the US government claims, is benign and is meant to monitor emergence of new dangerous infections. Countries like Russia and China believe they may be more sinister in nature.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said under oath that labs in Ukraine have been destroying research materials to prevent Russia from seizing them. It was not clear why Washington saw the scenario as dangerous. US officials claimed that the pathogens in question were remnants of Soviet bioweapons programs, which Moscow would presumably already have access to.
Some American public figures, such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, were attacked for asking questions about the Ukrainian labs, which supposedly amounts to repeating “Russian propaganda.”
Utah Senator Mitt Romney accused Gabbard of spreading “treasonous lies” with her concerns about the safety of pathogen samples in Ukraine. The hosts of The View television show suggested people asking such questions should be arrested and investigated as possible Russian agents.
17 Mar, 2022 09:27
Russia promises more disclosures on Ukraine biolabs
Human samples from a Kharkov lab were evacuated to the UK and other European countries, the military claims
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday it will soon release additional documents pertaining to the operation of Pentagon-funded biolabs in Ukraine. Moscow believes they have been involved in bioweapons research.
Russian military specialists in weapons of mass destruction are analyzing documents obtained from staff members of the Ukrainian labs, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a daily briefing. He claimed they detailed “implementation by the US in Ukraine of a secret project to study the ways humans can be infected from bats,” which was done in Kharkov.
The official said the same Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in the Ukrainian city worked for years to study under which conditions wild birds carrying flu could cause an epidemic in humans and to assess the damage that would result.
Konashenkov didn’t explain why such research should be considered military in nature, as assessed by the defense ministry.
The spokesman further said more Ukrainian documents will soon be released on the transfer of human samples from Ukraine to the UK and other European nations. The materials will be accompanied by Russian military assessments of the work they detail, he said.
The Pentagon sponsors dozens of labs around the world under the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The work they do, the US government claims, is benign and is meant to monitor emergence of new dangerous infections. Countries like Russia and China believe they may be more sinister in nature.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said under oath that labs in Ukraine have been destroying research materials to prevent Russia from seizing them. It was not clear why Washington saw the scenario as dangerous. US officials claimed that the pathogens in question were remnants of Soviet bioweapons programs, which Moscow would presumably already have access to.
Some American public figures, such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, were attacked for asking questions about the Ukrainian labs, which supposedly amounts to repeating “Russian propaganda.”
Utah Senator Mitt Romney accused Gabbard of spreading “treasonous lies” with her concerns about the safety of pathogen samples in Ukraine. The hosts of The View television show suggested people asking such questions should be arrested and investigated as possible Russian agents.
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.rt.com/russia/551672-who-de ... ns-advice/
11 Mar, 2022 06:10
WHO advised Kiev to destroy disease-causing pathogens – media
The UN agency reportedly warned Ukraine about the potential spread of dangerous diseases unless it destroys research materials
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reportedly told Kiev to dispose of dangerous research materials kept in laboratories around the country to prevent the pathogens from being leaked or “accidentally” released.
The UN agency revealed the details behind its recommendation to Ukraine in statements to Reuters and Russia’s TASS news agency on Friday.
“As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills,” the UN agency stated, as quoted by Reuters. It specified neither the nature of materials that should be destroyed, nor the date when it gave the advice.
The agency only reportedly told Reuters that it had been working with Kiev for “several years” to make sure “accidental or deliberate release of pathogens” never happens.
The Russian military previously accused Washington of creating and funding a network of “biolabs” in Ukraine as part of an alleged bioweapons program. Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed on Thursday that documents it seized in Ukraine’s research facilities suggest that the US was planning to “work on bird, bat and reptile pathogens,” and potentially study whether these animals could transmit such dangerous diseases as an African swine fever virus and anthrax.
On Friday, Moscow called for the UN Security Council to convene to discuss alleged US-backed biological weapons programs in Ukraine.
The US and Ukranian governments have both vehemently denied the claims, insisting that no bioweapons program has ever existed in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesky stated on Friday that most of his country’s bio-research facilities were inherited from the Soviet times, and were “focused on civilian science.”
On Thursday, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines admitted that Washington had “provided assistance” to the labs, but insisted that it was strictly “in the context of biosafety.”
11 Mar, 2022 06:10
WHO advised Kiev to destroy disease-causing pathogens – media
The UN agency reportedly warned Ukraine about the potential spread of dangerous diseases unless it destroys research materials
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reportedly told Kiev to dispose of dangerous research materials kept in laboratories around the country to prevent the pathogens from being leaked or “accidentally” released.
The UN agency revealed the details behind its recommendation to Ukraine in statements to Reuters and Russia’s TASS news agency on Friday.
“As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills,” the UN agency stated, as quoted by Reuters. It specified neither the nature of materials that should be destroyed, nor the date when it gave the advice.
The agency only reportedly told Reuters that it had been working with Kiev for “several years” to make sure “accidental or deliberate release of pathogens” never happens.
The Russian military previously accused Washington of creating and funding a network of “biolabs” in Ukraine as part of an alleged bioweapons program. Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed on Thursday that documents it seized in Ukraine’s research facilities suggest that the US was planning to “work on bird, bat and reptile pathogens,” and potentially study whether these animals could transmit such dangerous diseases as an African swine fever virus and anthrax.
On Friday, Moscow called for the UN Security Council to convene to discuss alleged US-backed biological weapons programs in Ukraine.
The US and Ukranian governments have both vehemently denied the claims, insisting that no bioweapons program has ever existed in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesky stated on Friday that most of his country’s bio-research facilities were inherited from the Soviet times, and were “focused on civilian science.”
On Thursday, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines admitted that Washington had “provided assistance” to the labs, but insisted that it was strictly “in the context of biosafety.”
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ex ... 022-03-11/
March 12, 2022
EXCLUSIVE WHO says it advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens in health labs to prevent disease spread
By Jennifer Rigby and Jonathan Landay
March 11 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters.
Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO.
Biosecurity experts say Russia's movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.
In response to questions from Reuters about its work with Ukraine ahead of and during Russia's invasion, the WHO said in an email on Thursday that it has collaborated with Ukrainian public health labs for several years to promote security practices that help prevent "accidental or deliberate release of pathogens."
"As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills," the WHO, a United Nations agency, said.
The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine's laboratories. The agency also did not answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed.
Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and at their embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Ukraine's laboratory capabilities have been at the center of a growing information war since Russia began moving troops into Ukraine two weeks ago.
On Friday, Russia called a meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council to reassert, without providing evidence, a longstanding claim that Ukraine ran biological weapons laboratories with U.S. Defense Department support. read more
The accusation has been repeatedly denied by Ukraine and the United States, where government officials warn Russia may use it as a pretext to deploy its own chemical or biological weapons.
Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, told the Security Council on Friday that the United Nations is "not aware" of any biological weapons program in Ukraine, which joined an international ban on such arms, as has Russia and the United States along with 180 other countries.
U.N. officials have also said the WHO, in its work with Ukraine, is not aware of any activity in the country that would violate international treaties "including on chemical weapons or biological weapons.”
The WHO statement to Reuters referred solely to public health laboratories. The agency said it encourages all parties to cooperate in "the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens they come across, and to reach out for technical assistance as needed." It offered to help wherever possible with technical guidance and coordination.
March 12, 2022
EXCLUSIVE WHO says it advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens in health labs to prevent disease spread
By Jennifer Rigby and Jonathan Landay
March 11 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters.
Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO.
Biosecurity experts say Russia's movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.
In response to questions from Reuters about its work with Ukraine ahead of and during Russia's invasion, the WHO said in an email on Thursday that it has collaborated with Ukrainian public health labs for several years to promote security practices that help prevent "accidental or deliberate release of pathogens."
"As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills," the WHO, a United Nations agency, said.
The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine's laboratories. The agency also did not answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed.
Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and at their embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Ukraine's laboratory capabilities have been at the center of a growing information war since Russia began moving troops into Ukraine two weeks ago.
On Friday, Russia called a meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council to reassert, without providing evidence, a longstanding claim that Ukraine ran biological weapons laboratories with U.S. Defense Department support. read more
The accusation has been repeatedly denied by Ukraine and the United States, where government officials warn Russia may use it as a pretext to deploy its own chemical or biological weapons.
Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, told the Security Council on Friday that the United Nations is "not aware" of any biological weapons program in Ukraine, which joined an international ban on such arms, as has Russia and the United States along with 180 other countries.
U.N. officials have also said the WHO, in its work with Ukraine, is not aware of any activity in the country that would violate international treaties "including on chemical weapons or biological weapons.”
The WHO statement to Reuters referred solely to public health laboratories. The agency said it encourages all parties to cooperate in "the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens they come across, and to reach out for technical assistance as needed." It offered to help wherever possible with technical guidance and coordination.
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.rt.com/news/551668-russia-u ... e-biolabs/
11 Mar, 2022 03:34
Russia asks for UN Security Council meeting over Ukraine’s ‘biolabs’
Moscow claims Washington has funded and curated alleged bioweapons programs in Ukraine
Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss purported US-backed biological weapons programs in Ukraine. Washington has denied that it owns or operates any such biolabs in the country, while Kiev insisted that the facilities were engaged only in civilian research.
Moscow’s deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy announced the move early on Friday, saying the mission had requested a Security Council summit for March 11, while citing a Defense Ministry briefing claiming that the United States and NATO allies ran “military biological programs” in Ukraine.
The military briefing went on to claim that the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency is “financing and conducting military biological research on the territory of Ukraine,” citing documents it said it captured at several facilities during Russia’s ongoing attack on the country. Among other activities, the ministry said research was carried out at laboratories in Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa to “study the possibility of the spread of particularly dangerous infections through migrating birds.”
Washington, however, has rejected those charges, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price telling reporters on Wednesday that the US is “in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention, and it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.”
Instead, Price argued it was Russia that has been operating “active chemical and biological weapons programs,” though he did not elaborate or provide evidence for the counter-accusation.
Other US officials have offered varying responses to Russia’s claims. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, for example, told lawmakers on Tuesday that Ukraine does, in fact, have “biological research facilities,” voicing concerns that “Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of” hazardous materials from those labs. She stopped short of confirming any American role at the facilities, however, and did not go into details about what kind of work had been done.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also weighed in on the issue, saying that any biolabs in his country have no military dimension and are “focused on civilian science.” He claimed that most of the facilities have been around since the Soviet era.
“Neither chemical weapons nor other weapons of mass destruction are being developed on our soil,” he said on Friday.
11 Mar, 2022 03:34
Russia asks for UN Security Council meeting over Ukraine’s ‘biolabs’
Moscow claims Washington has funded and curated alleged bioweapons programs in Ukraine
Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss purported US-backed biological weapons programs in Ukraine. Washington has denied that it owns or operates any such biolabs in the country, while Kiev insisted that the facilities were engaged only in civilian research.
Moscow’s deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy announced the move early on Friday, saying the mission had requested a Security Council summit for March 11, while citing a Defense Ministry briefing claiming that the United States and NATO allies ran “military biological programs” in Ukraine.
The military briefing went on to claim that the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency is “financing and conducting military biological research on the territory of Ukraine,” citing documents it said it captured at several facilities during Russia’s ongoing attack on the country. Among other activities, the ministry said research was carried out at laboratories in Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa to “study the possibility of the spread of particularly dangerous infections through migrating birds.”
Washington, however, has rejected those charges, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price telling reporters on Wednesday that the US is “in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention, and it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.”
Instead, Price argued it was Russia that has been operating “active chemical and biological weapons programs,” though he did not elaborate or provide evidence for the counter-accusation.
Other US officials have offered varying responses to Russia’s claims. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, for example, told lawmakers on Tuesday that Ukraine does, in fact, have “biological research facilities,” voicing concerns that “Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of” hazardous materials from those labs. She stopped short of confirming any American role at the facilities, however, and did not go into details about what kind of work had been done.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also weighed in on the issue, saying that any biolabs in his country have no military dimension and are “focused on civilian science.” He claimed that most of the facilities have been around since the Soviet era.
“Neither chemical weapons nor other weapons of mass destruction are being developed on our soil,” he said on Friday.
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.rt.com/russia/551661-us-int ... e-biolabs/
10 Mar, 2022 22:35
Top US spies explain Ukrainian ‘biolabs’
US intelligence community has pushed back against Russian allegations of “bioweapons” labs operating in Ukraine
The heads of US intelligence agencies rejected allegations of bioweapons research and development taking place in Ukraine with Washington’s during Senate hearings on Thursday.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Ukraine “operates a little over a dozen,” admitting that the US has “provided assistance” to the facilities at least in the past. Said “assistance” came only “in the context of biosafety”, she claimed, adding that it was “something we have done with a variety of different countries.”
“We do not assess that Ukraine is pursuing either biological weapons or nuclear weapons,” Haines said, dismissing the new allegations as “consistent with long-standing Russian efforts to accuse the United States of sponsoring bioweapons” and a “classic move by the Russians.”
A similar statement was produced during the hearings by the CIA Director and a former US ambassador to Moscow William Burns. The CIA boss flatly accused Russia of possessing biological and chemical weaponry itself, suggesting the new allegations came as a prelude for a “false-flag operations” with the illicit weaponry.
“Unlike Russia, which does have chemical and weapons and has used them, and does do biological weapons research and has for years, Ukraine has neither,” he claimed, adding that Russian “propaganda” gave the American spies “pretty serious concerns.”
The allegations of US-sponsored bioweapons research taking place in secretive laboratories scattered across Ukraine were raised Moscow attacked its neighbor in late February, following a seven-year standoff over Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, and Russia’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state. Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
On Monday, the commander of the Russian radiological, chemical and biological defense force, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said the secretive Ukrainian laboratories started hastily destroying the documents and materials they had been working on amid the offensive, including highly pathogenic bacterial and viral agents. Still, Moscow was able to obtain some documents related to the covert research, he claimed.
The official further elaborated on the matter on Thursday, alleging that the US has been directly involved in the research. The laboratories located in Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov have been allegedly working on a project dubbed UP-4, that explored prospects of using migratory birds for spreading pathogens, including the highly contagious H5N1 virus, Kirillov claimed. Some 145 species of birds were studied under the project, with two of them receiving special attention as their routes lay primarily over Russia’s territory.
Over the past few days, multiple top US officials commented on Moscow’s allegations, producing varying degrees of denial. US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, for instance, confirmed that Washington has been involved in efforts to ensure that no “materials” from the biolabs fall into Russia’s hands.
She did not elaborate, however, on the nature of the “biological research facilities” or the degree of the US involvement in their work. Others, including US State Department spokesperson Ned Price and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki opted for flat denial. The latter also accused Moscow of setting the stage for a potential “false flag” attack, adding that “we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine or to create a false flag operation using them.”
10 Mar, 2022 22:35
Top US spies explain Ukrainian ‘biolabs’
US intelligence community has pushed back against Russian allegations of “bioweapons” labs operating in Ukraine
The heads of US intelligence agencies rejected allegations of bioweapons research and development taking place in Ukraine with Washington’s during Senate hearings on Thursday.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Ukraine “operates a little over a dozen,” admitting that the US has “provided assistance” to the facilities at least in the past. Said “assistance” came only “in the context of biosafety”, she claimed, adding that it was “something we have done with a variety of different countries.”
“We do not assess that Ukraine is pursuing either biological weapons or nuclear weapons,” Haines said, dismissing the new allegations as “consistent with long-standing Russian efforts to accuse the United States of sponsoring bioweapons” and a “classic move by the Russians.”
A similar statement was produced during the hearings by the CIA Director and a former US ambassador to Moscow William Burns. The CIA boss flatly accused Russia of possessing biological and chemical weaponry itself, suggesting the new allegations came as a prelude for a “false-flag operations” with the illicit weaponry.
“Unlike Russia, which does have chemical and weapons and has used them, and does do biological weapons research and has for years, Ukraine has neither,” he claimed, adding that Russian “propaganda” gave the American spies “pretty serious concerns.”
The allegations of US-sponsored bioweapons research taking place in secretive laboratories scattered across Ukraine were raised Moscow attacked its neighbor in late February, following a seven-year standoff over Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, and Russia’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state. Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
On Monday, the commander of the Russian radiological, chemical and biological defense force, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov said the secretive Ukrainian laboratories started hastily destroying the documents and materials they had been working on amid the offensive, including highly pathogenic bacterial and viral agents. Still, Moscow was able to obtain some documents related to the covert research, he claimed.
The official further elaborated on the matter on Thursday, alleging that the US has been directly involved in the research. The laboratories located in Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov have been allegedly working on a project dubbed UP-4, that explored prospects of using migratory birds for spreading pathogens, including the highly contagious H5N1 virus, Kirillov claimed. Some 145 species of birds were studied under the project, with two of them receiving special attention as their routes lay primarily over Russia’s territory.
Over the past few days, multiple top US officials commented on Moscow’s allegations, producing varying degrees of denial. US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, for instance, confirmed that Washington has been involved in efforts to ensure that no “materials” from the biolabs fall into Russia’s hands.
She did not elaborate, however, on the nature of the “biological research facilities” or the degree of the US involvement in their work. Others, including US State Department spokesperson Ned Price and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki opted for flat denial. The latter also accused Moscow of setting the stage for a potential “false flag” attack, adding that “we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine or to create a false flag operation using them.”
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.rt.com/news/551618-bioweapo ... s-ukraine/
0 Mar, 2022 14:48
Do Ukrainian biolabs violate the ban on biological weapons programs?
An explanation must be offered for what was really going on in Ukrainian laboratories working with highly dangerous pathogens
Unless either Ukraine or the US can prove otherwise, the available evidence points to Kiev operating biological laboratories which may have violated the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on March 8, testifying on the US and international response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. After delivering her opening remarks, the veteran US diplomat took questions from the committee members. One question, asked by Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from the state of Florida, stood out. “Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?” he asked.
Nuland answered the question very deliberately. “Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we’re now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how we can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach,” she said.
Of note was the fact that none of this was mentioned in the entirety of her opening speech. The purpose of Rubio’s question wasn’t to pin Nuland into a corner, but rather set up the follow-on question, designed to deflect a very discomforting issue into a propaganda opportunity for the US government.
“I’m sure you’re aware,” Rubio said, “that the Russian propaganda groups are already putting out there all kinds of information about how they have uncovered a plot by the Ukrainians to unleash biological weapons in the country, and with NATO’s coordination.” The senator paused before asking his question. “If there is a biological or chemical weapon incident or attack inside Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100% it would be the Russians behind it?”
Nuland answered this question with more authority: “There is no doubt in my mind, Senator. And, in fact, it is a classic Russian technique to blame the other guy for what they are planning to do themselves.”
Rubio was right about one thing – the Russians were having a field day about the “biological research facilities” Nuland was so reticent about discussing. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that “We [Russia] confirm that, during the special military operation in Ukraine, the Kiev regime was found to have been concealing traces of a military biological program implemented with funding from the United States Department of Defense.”
According to Zakharova, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, on February 24 – the first day of the Russian offensive – had ordered all the Ukrainian biological laboratories to “urgently” eradicate the stored reserves of “highly hazardous pathogens of plague, anthrax, rabbit fever, cholera and other lethal diseases.” She said the documentation on the “urgent eradication” of the pathogens was “received from employees of Ukrainian laboratories.”
While noting that more work was being done by the Russian Ministry of Defense to fully assess the documents in question, Zakharova said Russia was able to conclude “that components of biological weapons were being developed in Ukrainian laboratories in direct proximity to Russian territory.”
“The urgent eradication of highly hazardous pathogens on February 24 was ordered to prevent exposing a violation of Article I of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) by Ukraine and the United States,” she added.
Article I of the BTWC states that “Each State Party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile, or otherwise acquire or retain:
microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;
weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict."
Earlier, the US Embassy in Kiev published information relating to what it described as a “Biological Threat Reduction Program,” a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the Ukrainian government. According to this data, “The [biological threat reduction] program accomplishes its bio-threat reduction mission through development of a bio-risk management culture; international research partnerships; and partner capacity for enhanced bio-security, bio-safety, and bio-surveillance measures.” According to the US Embassy, “the Biological Threat Reduction Program’s priorities in Ukraine are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern and to continue to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats.”
This all sounds innocuous enough and, if true, seems to meet the criterion set forth in Article 1 of the BTWC regarding “prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes.”
There is suspicion, however, that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency-led biological programs may have a more nefarious purpose. The Bulgarian investigative journalist, Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, has conducted extensive research into this issue. “The US Army regularly produces deadly viruses, bacteria and toxins in direct violation of the UN Convention on the prohibition of Biological Weapons. Hundreds of thousands of unwitting people are systematically exposed to dangerous pathogens and other incurable diseases. Bio-warfare scientists using diplomatic cover test man-made viruses at Pentagon bio laboratories in 25 countries across the world,” she claimed.
Gaytandzhieva’s work has been dismissed by the US as ‘pro-Russian propaganda.’ But the inescapable fact is that the US does not have a clean record when it comes to compliance with the BTWC. So-called “bio-defense” has been used by the US to circumvent, if not outright violate, the provisions of the BTWC in the past. The most flagrant example of this was the CIA-led “Project Clear Vision,” which from 1997 until 2000 sought to reverse-engineer and subsequently test a Soviet-era “bomblet” designed to disperse biological agents, including anthrax. There was a debate within the Clinton administration as to whether “Clear Vision” violated the BTWC, which led to the program being halted in 2000.
There is no need to worry about any such malfeasance at the biolabs in Ukraine, however, the director of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, Robert Pope, recently told reporters. “What we have today… are small amounts of various pathogens that by and large are things that are collected out of their environment that they need for research to be able to legitimately surveil disease and develop vaccines against.”
According to Pope, the Ukrainians had “more pathogens in more places than we recommend,” adding that his organization had been helping Ukrainian researchers organize their frozen pathogen collections with an eye on preserving genetic information via sequencing before destroying the live samples. “All of that, obviously, has been derailed here with the recent events,” he said.
Pope’s biggest concern was that if these biolabs lost electrical power for any extended time, then the frozen samples would thaw out. “If the ventilation system is damaged, or the building itself is damaged, and these now ambient-temperature pathogens are able to escape the facility, then they can be potentially infectious in the region around the facility,” he said.
He expressed hope that the facilities would not be deliberately attacked. “I think the Russians know enough about the kinds of pathogens that are stored in biological research laboratories that I don’t think they would deliberately target a laboratory. But what I do have concerns about is that they would… be accidentally damaged during this Russian invasion.”
While Pope had been painting a relatively benign picture of the types of pathogens stored at the facilities he supervised, he left a clue about the potential for something far more worrisome. While noting that many of the biolabs in Ukraine were of new construction, “others date back to the Soviet-era and the country’s bioweapons program.” Some of these older laboratories, Pope said, could hold pathogen strains dating back to the Soviet biowarfare programs. “Scientists being scientists, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of these strain collections in some of these laboratories still have pathogen strains that go all the way back to the origins of that program.”
If this is the case, then the Ukrainian labs could very well be the repository of Anthrax 836, an extremely deadly strain of that disease specifically developed to be delivered in warheads mounted on SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles operating from Ukraine.
This, it would seem, would put the labs in direct violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, which prohibits the acquisition or retention of pathogens “that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes.”
Anthrax 836, and other similar Soviet-era biological weapons, no longer exist. As such, there is no need to conduct research designed to defend from any potential exposure to such agents. The only possible explanation for retention of Soviet-era biological warfare pathogens would be to keep them for some future biological warfare program, or as a source for covert operations seeking to falsely link a target nation, such as Russia, to illegal activity.
If Marco Rubio had been doing his job, instead of promoting anti-Russian propaganda, he could have – indeed, should have – held Victoria Nuland’s feet to the fire regarding what was really going on at the biological labs in Ukraine. There might be an innocuous answer out there. But until it is provided, it appears that Russia did in Ukraine what the US was unable to in Iraq – launched an attack on a nation which was in possession of prohibited biological weapons.
0 Mar, 2022 14:48
Do Ukrainian biolabs violate the ban on biological weapons programs?
An explanation must be offered for what was really going on in Ukrainian laboratories working with highly dangerous pathogens
Unless either Ukraine or the US can prove otherwise, the available evidence points to Kiev operating biological laboratories which may have violated the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention.
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on March 8, testifying on the US and international response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. After delivering her opening remarks, the veteran US diplomat took questions from the committee members. One question, asked by Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from the state of Florida, stood out. “Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?” he asked.
Nuland answered the question very deliberately. “Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we’re now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how we can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach,” she said.
Of note was the fact that none of this was mentioned in the entirety of her opening speech. The purpose of Rubio’s question wasn’t to pin Nuland into a corner, but rather set up the follow-on question, designed to deflect a very discomforting issue into a propaganda opportunity for the US government.
“I’m sure you’re aware,” Rubio said, “that the Russian propaganda groups are already putting out there all kinds of information about how they have uncovered a plot by the Ukrainians to unleash biological weapons in the country, and with NATO’s coordination.” The senator paused before asking his question. “If there is a biological or chemical weapon incident or attack inside Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100% it would be the Russians behind it?”
Nuland answered this question with more authority: “There is no doubt in my mind, Senator. And, in fact, it is a classic Russian technique to blame the other guy for what they are planning to do themselves.”
Rubio was right about one thing – the Russians were having a field day about the “biological research facilities” Nuland was so reticent about discussing. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that “We [Russia] confirm that, during the special military operation in Ukraine, the Kiev regime was found to have been concealing traces of a military biological program implemented with funding from the United States Department of Defense.”
According to Zakharova, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, on February 24 – the first day of the Russian offensive – had ordered all the Ukrainian biological laboratories to “urgently” eradicate the stored reserves of “highly hazardous pathogens of plague, anthrax, rabbit fever, cholera and other lethal diseases.” She said the documentation on the “urgent eradication” of the pathogens was “received from employees of Ukrainian laboratories.”
While noting that more work was being done by the Russian Ministry of Defense to fully assess the documents in question, Zakharova said Russia was able to conclude “that components of biological weapons were being developed in Ukrainian laboratories in direct proximity to Russian territory.”
“The urgent eradication of highly hazardous pathogens on February 24 was ordered to prevent exposing a violation of Article I of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) by Ukraine and the United States,” she added.
Article I of the BTWC states that “Each State Party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile, or otherwise acquire or retain:
microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes;
weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict."
Earlier, the US Embassy in Kiev published information relating to what it described as a “Biological Threat Reduction Program,” a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the Ukrainian government. According to this data, “The [biological threat reduction] program accomplishes its bio-threat reduction mission through development of a bio-risk management culture; international research partnerships; and partner capacity for enhanced bio-security, bio-safety, and bio-surveillance measures.” According to the US Embassy, “the Biological Threat Reduction Program’s priorities in Ukraine are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern and to continue to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats.”
This all sounds innocuous enough and, if true, seems to meet the criterion set forth in Article 1 of the BTWC regarding “prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes.”
There is suspicion, however, that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency-led biological programs may have a more nefarious purpose. The Bulgarian investigative journalist, Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, has conducted extensive research into this issue. “The US Army regularly produces deadly viruses, bacteria and toxins in direct violation of the UN Convention on the prohibition of Biological Weapons. Hundreds of thousands of unwitting people are systematically exposed to dangerous pathogens and other incurable diseases. Bio-warfare scientists using diplomatic cover test man-made viruses at Pentagon bio laboratories in 25 countries across the world,” she claimed.
Gaytandzhieva’s work has been dismissed by the US as ‘pro-Russian propaganda.’ But the inescapable fact is that the US does not have a clean record when it comes to compliance with the BTWC. So-called “bio-defense” has been used by the US to circumvent, if not outright violate, the provisions of the BTWC in the past. The most flagrant example of this was the CIA-led “Project Clear Vision,” which from 1997 until 2000 sought to reverse-engineer and subsequently test a Soviet-era “bomblet” designed to disperse biological agents, including anthrax. There was a debate within the Clinton administration as to whether “Clear Vision” violated the BTWC, which led to the program being halted in 2000.
There is no need to worry about any such malfeasance at the biolabs in Ukraine, however, the director of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, Robert Pope, recently told reporters. “What we have today… are small amounts of various pathogens that by and large are things that are collected out of their environment that they need for research to be able to legitimately surveil disease and develop vaccines against.”
According to Pope, the Ukrainians had “more pathogens in more places than we recommend,” adding that his organization had been helping Ukrainian researchers organize their frozen pathogen collections with an eye on preserving genetic information via sequencing before destroying the live samples. “All of that, obviously, has been derailed here with the recent events,” he said.
Pope’s biggest concern was that if these biolabs lost electrical power for any extended time, then the frozen samples would thaw out. “If the ventilation system is damaged, or the building itself is damaged, and these now ambient-temperature pathogens are able to escape the facility, then they can be potentially infectious in the region around the facility,” he said.
He expressed hope that the facilities would not be deliberately attacked. “I think the Russians know enough about the kinds of pathogens that are stored in biological research laboratories that I don’t think they would deliberately target a laboratory. But what I do have concerns about is that they would… be accidentally damaged during this Russian invasion.”
While Pope had been painting a relatively benign picture of the types of pathogens stored at the facilities he supervised, he left a clue about the potential for something far more worrisome. While noting that many of the biolabs in Ukraine were of new construction, “others date back to the Soviet-era and the country’s bioweapons program.” Some of these older laboratories, Pope said, could hold pathogen strains dating back to the Soviet biowarfare programs. “Scientists being scientists, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of these strain collections in some of these laboratories still have pathogen strains that go all the way back to the origins of that program.”
If this is the case, then the Ukrainian labs could very well be the repository of Anthrax 836, an extremely deadly strain of that disease specifically developed to be delivered in warheads mounted on SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles operating from Ukraine.
This, it would seem, would put the labs in direct violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, which prohibits the acquisition or retention of pathogens “that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes.”
Anthrax 836, and other similar Soviet-era biological weapons, no longer exist. As such, there is no need to conduct research designed to defend from any potential exposure to such agents. The only possible explanation for retention of Soviet-era biological warfare pathogens would be to keep them for some future biological warfare program, or as a source for covert operations seeking to falsely link a target nation, such as Russia, to illegal activity.
If Marco Rubio had been doing his job, instead of promoting anti-Russian propaganda, he could have – indeed, should have – held Victoria Nuland’s feet to the fire regarding what was really going on at the biological labs in Ukraine. There might be an innocuous answer out there. But until it is provided, it appears that Russia did in Ukraine what the US was unable to in Iraq – launched an attack on a nation which was in possession of prohibited biological weapons.
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video ... ities.html
Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland: If There Is A Chemical Or Biological Weapons Incident In Ukraine, "No Doubt" The Russians Are Behind It
Posted By Tim Hains
On Date March 8, 2022
Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday that if there is a chemical or biological weapons incident in Ukraine, it will be the Russians' responsibility.
She also said the United States is working to prevent Russia from capturing Ukraine's "biological research facilities."
In response to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio about Russia's claim that NATO is working on biological weapons in Ukraine, Nuland said: "It is a classic Russian technique to blame the other guy for what they are planning to do themselves."
SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?
VICTORIA NULAND: Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we're now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how we can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.
MARCO RUBIO: I'm sure you're aware that the Russian propaganda groups are already putting out there all kinds of information about how they have uncovered a plot by the Ukrainians to unleash biological weapons in the country, and with NATO's coordination.
If there is a biological or chemical weapon incident or attack inside Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100% it would be the Russians behind it?
VICTORIA NULAND: There is no doubt in my mind, senator. And in fact, it is a classic Russian technique to blame the other guy for what they are planning to do themselves.
Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland: If There Is A Chemical Or Biological Weapons Incident In Ukraine, "No Doubt" The Russians Are Behind It
Posted By Tim Hains
On Date March 8, 2022
Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday that if there is a chemical or biological weapons incident in Ukraine, it will be the Russians' responsibility.
She also said the United States is working to prevent Russia from capturing Ukraine's "biological research facilities."
In response to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio about Russia's claim that NATO is working on biological weapons in Ukraine, Nuland said: "It is a classic Russian technique to blame the other guy for what they are planning to do themselves."
SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?
VICTORIA NULAND: Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we're now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how we can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.
MARCO RUBIO: I'm sure you're aware that the Russian propaganda groups are already putting out there all kinds of information about how they have uncovered a plot by the Ukrainians to unleash biological weapons in the country, and with NATO's coordination.
If there is a biological or chemical weapon incident or attack inside Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100% it would be the Russians behind it?
VICTORIA NULAND: There is no doubt in my mind, senator. And in fact, it is a classic Russian technique to blame the other guy for what they are planning to do themselves.
Re: what do we really know about the Ukraine war?
https://www.naturalblaze.com/2018/01/bi ... tagon.html
Explosive Article: The Pentagon Bio-Weapons
POSTED ON
JANUARY 16, 2018
NATURAL HEALTH NEWS
BIG STORY By Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, SPECIAL REPORT For Natural Blaze
The US Army regularly produces deadly viruses, bacteria and toxins in direct violation of the UN Convention on the prohibition of Biological Weapons. Hundreds of thousands of unwitting people are systematically exposed to dangerous pathogens and other incurable diseases. Bio warfare scientists using diplomatic cover test man-made viruses at Pentagon bio laboratories in 25 countries across the world. These US bio-laboratories are funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under a $ 2.1 billion military program– Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), and are located in former Soviet Union countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa.
The US Army has been deployed to Vaziani Military Air Base, 17 km away from the Pentagon bio-laboratory at The Lugar Center.
Georgia is a testing ground for bioweapons
The Lugar Center is the Pentagon bio laboratory in Georgia. It is located just 17 km away from the US Vaziani military airbase in the capital Tbilisi. Tasked with the military program are biologists from the US Army Medical Research Unit-Georgia (USAMRU-G) along with private contractors. The Bio-safety Level 3 Laboratory is accessible only to US citizens with security clearance. They are accorded diplomatic immunity under the 2002 US-Georgia Agreement on defense cooperation.
The USA-Georgia agreement accords diplomatic status to the US military and civilian personnel (including diplomatic vehicles), working on the Pentagon program in Georgia.
Information obtained from the US federal contracts registry clarifies some of the military activities at The Lugar Center – among them research on bio- agents (anthrax, tularemia) and viral diseases (e.g. Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever), and the collection of biological samples for future experiments.
Pentagon contractors produce bio agents under diplomatic cover
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has outsourced much of the work under the military program to private companies, which are not held accountable to Congress, and which can operate more freely and move around the rule of law. US civilian personnel performing work at The Lugar Center have also been given diplomatic immunity, although they are not diplomats. Hence, private companies can perform work, under diplomatic cover, for the US government without being under the direct control of the host state – in this case the Republic of Georgia. This practice is often used by the CIA to provide cover for its agents.
hree private American companies work at the US bio-laboratory in Tbilisi – CH2M Hill, Battelle and Metabiota. In addition to the Pentagon, these private contractors perform biological research for the CIA and various other government agencies.
CH2M Hill has been awarded $341.5 million DTRA contracts under the Pentagon’s program for bio-laboratories in Georgia, Uganda, Tanzania, Iraq, Afghanistan, South East Asia. Half of this sum ($161.1 million), being allocated to The Lugar Center, under the Georgian contract.
According to CH2M Hill, the US Company has secured biological agents and employed former bio warfare scientists at The Lugar Center. These are scientists who are working for another American company involved in the military program in Georgia – Battelle Memorial Institute.
Battelle as a $59 million subcontractor at Lugar Center has extensive experience in research on bio-agents, as the company has already worked on the US Bio-weapons Program under 11 previous contracts with the US Army (1952-1966).
Source: US Army Activities in the US, Biological Warfare Programs, vol. II, 1977, p. 82
The private company performs work for the Pentagon’s DTRA bio laboratories in Afghanistan, Armenia, Georgia, Uganda, Tanzania, Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Battelle conducts research, development, testing, and evaluation using both highly toxic chemicals and highly pathogenic biological agents for a wide range of US government agencies. It has been awarded some $2 billion federal contracts in total and ranks 23 on the Top 100 US government contractors list.
The CIA-Battelle Project Clear Vision
Project Clear Vision (1997 and 2000), a joint investigation by the CIA and the Battelle Memorial Institute, under a contract awarded by the Agency, reconstructed and tested a Soviet-era anthrax bomblet in order to test its dissemination characteristics. The project’s stated goal was to assess bio-agents dissemination characteristics of bomblets. The clandestine CIA-Battelle operation was omitted from the US Biological Weapons Convention declarations submitted to the UN.
Top Secret Experiments
Battelle has operated a Top Secret Bio laboratory (National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center – NBACC) at Fort Detrick, Maryland under a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract for the last decade. The company has been awarded a $344.4 million federal contract (2006 – 2016) and another $17.3 million contract (2015 -2026) by DHS.
Amongst the secret experiments, performed by Battelle at NBACC, are: Assessment of powder dissemination technology ; Assessment of hazard posed by aerosolized toxins and Assessment of virulence of B. Pseudomallei (Meliodosis) as a function of aerosol particle in non-human primates. Melioidosis has the potential to be developed as a biological weapon, hence, it is classed as a category B. Bioterrorism Agent. B. Pseudomallei was studied by the US as a potential bioweapon in the past.
Besides the military experiments at the Lugar Center in Georgia, Battelle has already produced bioterrorism agents at the Biosafety Level 4 NBACC Top Secret Laboratory at Fort Detrick in the US. A NBACC presentation lists 16 research priorities for the lab. Amongst them to characterize classical, emerging and genetically engineered pathogens for their BTA (biological threat agent) potential; assess the nature of nontraditional, novel and non-endemic induction of disease from potential BTA and to expand aerosol-challenge testing capacity for non-human primates.
Pentagon biolabs at the epicenter of the Ebola crisis
The US Company Metabiota Inc. has been awarded $18.4 million federal contracts under the Pentagon’s DTRA program in Georgia and Ukraine for scientific and technical consulting services.
Metabiota services include global field-based biological threat research, pathogen discovery, outbreak response and clinical trials.
Metabiota Inc. had been contracted by the Pentagon to perform work for DTRA before and during the Ebola crisis in West Africa and was awarded $3.1 million (2012-2015) for work in Sierra Leone – one of the countries at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak.
Metabiota worked on a Pentagon’s project at the epicenter of the Ebola crisis, where three US biolabs are situated.
A July 17, 2014 report drafted by the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, accused Metabiota Inc. of failing to abide by an existing agreement on how to report test results and for bypassing the Sierra Leonean scientists working there. The report also raised the possibility that Metabiota was culturing blood cells at the lab, something the report said was dangerous, as well as misdiagnosing healthy patients. All of those allegations were denied by Metabiota.
2011,The Lugar Center, Andrew C. Weber (on the right) – US Assistant Secretary of Defense (2009-2014), US DoD Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response (2014-2015), is currently a Metabiota ( the US contractor) employee.
Military Experiments on biting insects
Entomological warfare is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to transmit diseases. The Pentagon has allegedly performed such entomological tests in Georgia and Russia.
Biting Flies in Georgia
In 2014 The Lugar Center was equipped with an insect facility and launched a project “Raising Awareness about Barcoding of Sand Flies in Georgia and Caucasus”. The project covered a larger geographic area outside of Georgia – Caucasus. In 2014-2015 Phlebotomine sand fly species were collected under another project “Surveillance Work on Acute Febrile Illness” and all (female) sand flies were tested to determine their infectivity rate. A third project, also including sand flies collection, studied the characteristics of their salivary glands.
As a result Tbilisi has been infested with biting flies since 2015. These biting insects live indoors, in bathrooms, all year long, which was not the typical behaviour of these species in Georgia previously (normally the Phlebotomine fly season in Georgia is exceptionally short – from June to September). Local people complain of being bitten by these newly appeared flies while naked in their bathrooms. They also have a strong resistance to cold and can survive even in the sub-zero temperatures in the mountains.
Explosive Article: The Pentagon Bio-Weapons
POSTED ON
JANUARY 16, 2018
NATURAL HEALTH NEWS
BIG STORY By Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, SPECIAL REPORT For Natural Blaze
The US Army regularly produces deadly viruses, bacteria and toxins in direct violation of the UN Convention on the prohibition of Biological Weapons. Hundreds of thousands of unwitting people are systematically exposed to dangerous pathogens and other incurable diseases. Bio warfare scientists using diplomatic cover test man-made viruses at Pentagon bio laboratories in 25 countries across the world. These US bio-laboratories are funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under a $ 2.1 billion military program– Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), and are located in former Soviet Union countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa.
The US Army has been deployed to Vaziani Military Air Base, 17 km away from the Pentagon bio-laboratory at The Lugar Center.
Georgia is a testing ground for bioweapons
The Lugar Center is the Pentagon bio laboratory in Georgia. It is located just 17 km away from the US Vaziani military airbase in the capital Tbilisi. Tasked with the military program are biologists from the US Army Medical Research Unit-Georgia (USAMRU-G) along with private contractors. The Bio-safety Level 3 Laboratory is accessible only to US citizens with security clearance. They are accorded diplomatic immunity under the 2002 US-Georgia Agreement on defense cooperation.
The USA-Georgia agreement accords diplomatic status to the US military and civilian personnel (including diplomatic vehicles), working on the Pentagon program in Georgia.
Information obtained from the US federal contracts registry clarifies some of the military activities at The Lugar Center – among them research on bio- agents (anthrax, tularemia) and viral diseases (e.g. Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever), and the collection of biological samples for future experiments.
Pentagon contractors produce bio agents under diplomatic cover
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has outsourced much of the work under the military program to private companies, which are not held accountable to Congress, and which can operate more freely and move around the rule of law. US civilian personnel performing work at The Lugar Center have also been given diplomatic immunity, although they are not diplomats. Hence, private companies can perform work, under diplomatic cover, for the US government without being under the direct control of the host state – in this case the Republic of Georgia. This practice is often used by the CIA to provide cover for its agents.
hree private American companies work at the US bio-laboratory in Tbilisi – CH2M Hill, Battelle and Metabiota. In addition to the Pentagon, these private contractors perform biological research for the CIA and various other government agencies.
CH2M Hill has been awarded $341.5 million DTRA contracts under the Pentagon’s program for bio-laboratories in Georgia, Uganda, Tanzania, Iraq, Afghanistan, South East Asia. Half of this sum ($161.1 million), being allocated to The Lugar Center, under the Georgian contract.
According to CH2M Hill, the US Company has secured biological agents and employed former bio warfare scientists at The Lugar Center. These are scientists who are working for another American company involved in the military program in Georgia – Battelle Memorial Institute.
Battelle as a $59 million subcontractor at Lugar Center has extensive experience in research on bio-agents, as the company has already worked on the US Bio-weapons Program under 11 previous contracts with the US Army (1952-1966).
Source: US Army Activities in the US, Biological Warfare Programs, vol. II, 1977, p. 82
The private company performs work for the Pentagon’s DTRA bio laboratories in Afghanistan, Armenia, Georgia, Uganda, Tanzania, Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Battelle conducts research, development, testing, and evaluation using both highly toxic chemicals and highly pathogenic biological agents for a wide range of US government agencies. It has been awarded some $2 billion federal contracts in total and ranks 23 on the Top 100 US government contractors list.
The CIA-Battelle Project Clear Vision
Project Clear Vision (1997 and 2000), a joint investigation by the CIA and the Battelle Memorial Institute, under a contract awarded by the Agency, reconstructed and tested a Soviet-era anthrax bomblet in order to test its dissemination characteristics. The project’s stated goal was to assess bio-agents dissemination characteristics of bomblets. The clandestine CIA-Battelle operation was omitted from the US Biological Weapons Convention declarations submitted to the UN.
Top Secret Experiments
Battelle has operated a Top Secret Bio laboratory (National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center – NBACC) at Fort Detrick, Maryland under a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contract for the last decade. The company has been awarded a $344.4 million federal contract (2006 – 2016) and another $17.3 million contract (2015 -2026) by DHS.
Amongst the secret experiments, performed by Battelle at NBACC, are: Assessment of powder dissemination technology ; Assessment of hazard posed by aerosolized toxins and Assessment of virulence of B. Pseudomallei (Meliodosis) as a function of aerosol particle in non-human primates. Melioidosis has the potential to be developed as a biological weapon, hence, it is classed as a category B. Bioterrorism Agent. B. Pseudomallei was studied by the US as a potential bioweapon in the past.
Besides the military experiments at the Lugar Center in Georgia, Battelle has already produced bioterrorism agents at the Biosafety Level 4 NBACC Top Secret Laboratory at Fort Detrick in the US. A NBACC presentation lists 16 research priorities for the lab. Amongst them to characterize classical, emerging and genetically engineered pathogens for their BTA (biological threat agent) potential; assess the nature of nontraditional, novel and non-endemic induction of disease from potential BTA and to expand aerosol-challenge testing capacity for non-human primates.
Pentagon biolabs at the epicenter of the Ebola crisis
The US Company Metabiota Inc. has been awarded $18.4 million federal contracts under the Pentagon’s DTRA program in Georgia and Ukraine for scientific and technical consulting services.
Metabiota services include global field-based biological threat research, pathogen discovery, outbreak response and clinical trials.
Metabiota Inc. had been contracted by the Pentagon to perform work for DTRA before and during the Ebola crisis in West Africa and was awarded $3.1 million (2012-2015) for work in Sierra Leone – one of the countries at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak.
Metabiota worked on a Pentagon’s project at the epicenter of the Ebola crisis, where three US biolabs are situated.
A July 17, 2014 report drafted by the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium, accused Metabiota Inc. of failing to abide by an existing agreement on how to report test results and for bypassing the Sierra Leonean scientists working there. The report also raised the possibility that Metabiota was culturing blood cells at the lab, something the report said was dangerous, as well as misdiagnosing healthy patients. All of those allegations were denied by Metabiota.
2011,The Lugar Center, Andrew C. Weber (on the right) – US Assistant Secretary of Defense (2009-2014), US DoD Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response (2014-2015), is currently a Metabiota ( the US contractor) employee.
Military Experiments on biting insects
Entomological warfare is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to transmit diseases. The Pentagon has allegedly performed such entomological tests in Georgia and Russia.
Biting Flies in Georgia
In 2014 The Lugar Center was equipped with an insect facility and launched a project “Raising Awareness about Barcoding of Sand Flies in Georgia and Caucasus”. The project covered a larger geographic area outside of Georgia – Caucasus. In 2014-2015 Phlebotomine sand fly species were collected under another project “Surveillance Work on Acute Febrile Illness” and all (female) sand flies were tested to determine their infectivity rate. A third project, also including sand flies collection, studied the characteristics of their salivary glands.
As a result Tbilisi has been infested with biting flies since 2015. These biting insects live indoors, in bathrooms, all year long, which was not the typical behaviour of these species in Georgia previously (normally the Phlebotomine fly season in Georgia is exceptionally short – from June to September). Local people complain of being bitten by these newly appeared flies while naked in their bathrooms. They also have a strong resistance to cold and can survive even in the sub-zero temperatures in the mountains.