Russia Ukraine War: Bio-warfare face off between Russia & US, here's all you need to know

This week, Russia claimed to have discovered US-funded biological weapons facilities in Ukraine, an unsubstantiated assertion that the US promptly refuted. Furthermore, the US believes it is yet another attempt by the Kremlin to weaponize conspiracy theories in order to justify its invasion of Ukraine, as well as a possible precursor to a Russian-sponsored biological or chemical strike. Here's a rundown of the US-Russia bio-warfare standoff so far:

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a US defence agency supported research into bat coronaviruses in Ukraine, and Ukraine's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, stated that these were not peaceful research. The White House dismissed such assertions on Wednesday, saying that suspicions of the deployment of biological or chemical weapons could signal Russian efforts to create the framework for their use in the Ukraine conflict.

"We've made an official enquiry on how it may be explained, and we'll demand a response," Lavrov said in Antalya, Turkey, during discussions with his Ukrainian and Turkish colleagues. "I don't have any evidence on their employing these weapons, but these were not benign tests," he added.

Similar assertions concerning development on a chemical weapons programme in Ukraine "have been disproved," according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. She further added that the claim is an example of the types of bogus pretexts we have been warning the Russians would invent.

Psaki slammed Russia's claim

Jen Psaki, further slammed Russia's claim in a series of tweets, claiming that Moscow has a long and well-documented history of using chemical weapons. She described attempted assassinations and poisonings of political opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The US State Department and the Pentagon criticised Russia's claims as well. In a statement, US State Department spokesman Ned Price accused Russia of inventing false pretexts to justify its own heinous actions in Ukraine, adding that the US complied fully with its obligations under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions, and that it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Russian foreign ministry official requested that Washington reveal data about its "criminal acts" in Ukraine. Before Russian military entered Ukraine on February 24, Maria Zakharova said that Russia possessed documents demonstrating that the Ukrainian health ministry had ordered the destruction of plague, cholera, anthrax, and other pathogen samples. According to Zakharova, the documents discovered by Russian forces in Ukraine reveal an emergency attempt to erase proof of Pentagon-funded military biological programmes.

China joins Russia in accusing US of operating bio labs in Ukraine

Meanwhile, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian, as well as Russian and Chinese state-run media sources, bolstered unsubstantiated accusations of "US biolabs in Ukraine" this week. China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the United States has 336 laboratories in 30 nations, including 26 in Ukraine. It also required that the US offer a thorough account of its biological military activities both at home and abroad, as well as submit the information to international verification.

Western authorities are increasingly concerned that such charges are a sign that Moscow is becoming more willing to use nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons in Ukraine, after increasing pressure on Ukrainian cities such as Mariupol with more hazardous conventional weaponry. A senior official from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization expressed grave concerns on Wednesday that Russia, which has struggled to make progress in its attack on Ukraine, is preparing to use chemical weapons in the nation, NYT reported.

The Defense Potential Reduction Agency and its Biological Threat Reduction Program, according to the US, strive to "fight the threat of outbreaks—deliberate, accidental, or natural—of the world's most severe infectious illnesses." Separately, the United States has provided Ukraine with four mobile labs to aid in the control of COVID-19 in the nation. According to the US Embassy in Ukraine, the US assisted in the upgrade of several labs in Ukraine to biosafety level 2, or BSL-2.

Disease samples that aren't especially hazardous, such as HIV and bacteria that cause staph infections, are frequently handled by labs with that biosafety level. According to data referenced by US health organisations, Ukraine does not have any BSL-4 labs, which are highly guarded facilities that investigate the most contagious and hazardous viruses, such as the Ebola virus.

US does not believe that Ukraine is pursuing biological or nuclear weapons

Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, said on Thursday that the US does not believe that Ukraine is pursuing biological or nuclear weapons. She further added that the US has previously provided biosafety assistance to Ukraine, which she claims has about a dozen labs focused on biodefense and public-health responses rather than offensive weaponry.

Morover, Psaki asserted that the United States complies fully with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions and does not create or possess such weapons anywhere. She stated that Russia has an established history of employing chemical weapons. Further, Moscow has also charged Kyiv with attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

Ukraine is not seeking to build such weapons, according to the international agency that monitors nuclear projects. After the Soviet Union fell apart, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. As Russian and Ukrainian soldiers struggle near nuclear-energy plants, fears of a catastrophic incident have grown.

The State Department reported to Congress in 2018 that Russia had failed to demonstrate that it has stopped using chemical and biological weapons, paving the door for sanctions against the Kremlin and businesses under its control. Also it is worth noting that, during Syria's civil conflict, Moscow backed Syrian President Bashar al-regime, Assad's which deployed chemical weapons against civilians.

(With agency inputs)

Image: AP/Unsplash