The Cuban official press has been supporting the Russian narrative for months that affirms that there are secret laboratories sponsored by the United States that are dedicated to the production of biological weapons in Ukraine, although there is no proof of this.
In at least five articles published since the end of March, media such as Cubadebate, Granma Y Las Tunas Vision they state that in Ukraine there are more than 30 laboratories that carry out military biological activities on a large scale. However, the facilities mentioned are not secret, nor is there evidence that they conduct any military research.
The publications echo statements by the Russian Ministry of Defense according to which Ukraine develops pathogens for military use to spread through the migration of ducks and bats. His only source is Russian military reports.
“The goal of these Pentagon-funded biological investigations in Ukraine was to create a mechanism for the secret spread of deadly pathogens,” says one of the articles published by Cubadebate.
“During its special military operation in Ukraine, Russia found numbered birds produced by Ukrainian biological laboratories, financed and supervised by the United States,” he says. Granma, in an article titled: Numbered birds, a weapon to kill without firing a single shot, among other biological experiments.
Various Western media, such as BBC, EFE Y polyfacthave already verified that the Russian claims are unsubstantiated.
First of all, the labs are not secret. On the contrary, it is public knowledge that Ukraine has a network of laboratories that investigate dangerous diseases for the health of humans and animals, such as anthrax and hemorrhagic fever.
“The reality is that a true biological weapons program has additional requirements, such as formulating an agent that can be mass-produced and is stable enough to be stored and disseminated”
It is also no secret that these facilities receive financial support from the United States. On the website of the Embassy of Washington in Ukraine there is a section that includes all the details of said collaboration. Some of the laboratories are also supported by the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Another relevant aspect is that Russia did not present any evidence that these laboratories were used for military research, nor that the facilities had the necessary capabilities for the development of weapons.
“There is no indication that Ukrainian laboratories have been involved in any nefarious activity, or in any research or development that contravenes the Biological Weapons Convention,” Filippa Lentzos, a biosafety expert at King’s College London, told the BBC.
“The reality is that a true biological weapons program has additional requirements, such as the formulation of an agent that can be mass-produced and is stable enough to be stored and disseminated,” said the director of the Graduate Program in Biodefense. of George Mason University, Gregory Koblentz, to Politifact.
Ukraine also regularly submits voluntary reports of compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention, which prohibits the development, production and possession of biological weapons. The United Nations Organization (UN) also does not have any report from the Office for Disarmament Affairs indicating any suspicion about the investigations carried out in the Ukrainian laboratories.
Finally, the United States Department of Defense reported on March 11 that, when the Russian attacks began, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health ordered the safe disposal of pathogen samples stored in laboratories, with the aim of preventing any type of accidental release generated by the attacks.
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