A Russian parliamentary commission tasked with investigating the activities of US biolaboratories in Ukraine seeks to invite a number of US government officials to participate in parliamentary sessions related to the biolabs issue, said the commission’s co-chair and Russian State Duma vice speaker Irina Yarovaya.
The commission, Yarovaya told media, has sent a request to the foreign ministry about inviting a number of US government officials who are linked to the matter of "biolaboratories in Ukraine" to "provide explanations", with Yarovaya noting that the commission is willing to provide a public platform for providing answers.
She also pointed out that the United States effectively operates outside of Ukraine’s legal framework by running those laboratories, and that the "covert criminal actions the United States perpetrate in Ukraine and in other countries" effectively put the whole world in jeopardy.
Last month, Russia’s Defence Ministry announced the discovery in Ukraine of about 30 biological laboratories involved in developing components of bioweapons and funded by the Pentagon.
The Biden administration, however, denied any involvement in the programme.
The Russian Defence Ministry’s announcement was made amid the military operation Russia launched in Ukraine on 24 February, after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, which Moscow formally recognised earlier, asked for assistance in defending themselves from attacks by Ukrainian troops.
The Russian government stated that the goal of this operation is to neutralise Ukraine's military capacity, with precision strikes being carried out specifically against the Ukrainian military infrastructure.