Ukraine: Amidst Russia’s fresh claims, there is no trace of a secret biological weapons program |

“This still exists to this day“Thomas Markram said.

The Russian Federation, the United States and Ukraine were all Member States of 1972 Biological Weapons Convention strictly prohibit the development, production, acquisition, transfer, possession and use of biological and toxic weapons.

Recourse channels

Mr. Markram – who is also the Deputy High Representative – explained that the Convention contains a number of measures that the States Parties concerned can take for us to address concerns or doubts about their activities. their colleagues.

For example, under Article V, member states can consult each other and cooperate in resolving any issue through international procedures, including on a bilateral basis, he said. . Noting that one such procedure is convening a consultation meeting, he said other possibilities exist under Article VI.

“I therefore encourage any Member State with compliance concerns to use the procedures available under the Convention.,” said Mr. Markram. The Office of Disarmament stands ready to assist in any procedure under the Convention which States Parties may decide to employ.

Alleged biosecurity threat to Eastern Europe

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said his country called today’s meeting – the third on the subject – because it continues to receive evidence that the US Department of Defense is working on dangerous biological projects. secret military nature on the western border with his country.

“It is a real threat to the biosecurity of our country, the region, and given the transboundary nature of these biological threats to the entire world,” he said. However, as confirmed by Mr. Markram, neither Ukraine nor the United States included information about this threat in the reporting required by the Convention, he said.

“Preventing such dangerous activities can only be done through the ‘special military operation’ of one’s country,” he said. He attracted the attention of the “Project 3007”, in which Ukrainian specialists, under the supervision of their American colleagues, collected water samples from the Dnipro, Danube and other waterways, searching for water bodies. pathogens, such as typhoid. The samples are then sent to the United States.

The logical question is “why?” he said. Just a glance at a map of Ukraine’s water resources, he added, is enough to understand that the results could be used to create a biological disaster in the Russian Federation, across the Sea of ​​Azov and the Black Sea, and in Eastern Europe.

Among other claims, he accused Ukraine of trying to spread dangerous biohazards across the Russian Federation, pointing out that it had received 50 drones in January equipped to carry out operations. perform such an attack and the United States funds such activities through subcontractors.

He said another biological incident in 2020 using “fake money” as a carrier for tuberculosis in Luhansk, endangering the children who found it. “This money was infected with biologically active tuberculosis,” he asserts, confirming “a very worrying trend.” He went on to claim that other evidence indicated that American scientists were conducting experiments on psychiatric patients at the 3rd hospital, in Kharkov.

© Unsplash / Mick de Paola

Reactor 3 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine.

‘Fantastic’ claims, conspiracy theories

In turn, US deputy ambassador Richard M. Mills lamented that the UN’s director of disarmament had been asked to join a “really unfamiliar conversation” today. He blamed Russia for once again using the Council as a platform to spread disinformation and conspiracy theories about Ukraine as it continued its brutal and inhuman attacks on its people. Ukraine.

“Russia constantly argues with the Council through these absurd meetings,” he said. The endless claims about chemical and biological weapons programs in Ukraine are completely untrue and “ridiculous”. In making “fanciful” claims about poisoned banknotes, secret treatments for psychiatric prisoners, and non-disclosure agreements, “it was as if the discussion of the the Russian delegation came from a bad spy novel,” he said.

Track chemical weapons use records

They follow a good warning model, he said, in which Russian authorities accuse others of the very violations they have committed or intend to commit. He warned against lending these “weird” claims any credit – other than closely monitoring the possibility of a fake chemical or biological attack carried out by Russian forces themselves.

It should not be forgotten, he said, that Russia has a long and complete track record of using chemical weapons, including targeted assassinations and poisonings of enemies of President Vladimir Putin. , including opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

Click this to view the entire meeting.