Ukrainian servicemen were subjected to bacteriological experiments in their country, Konstantin Kosachev, co-chairman of the Russian parliamentary commission to investigate the activities of
US biolabs in Ukraine, told reporters on Monday.
According to the Russian lawmaker, this means that experiments in the field of extremely dangerous infectious diseases were carried out on the territory of Ukraine. “Under certain circumstances, these diseases could be spread for offensive purposes,” Kosachev added.
Last week, the lawmaker pledged that the commission would hammer out a number of bills aimed at ensuring Russia’s bacteriological safety.
Kosachev noted that the law on biological safety in Russia, which came into force on July 1, stipulates the creation of a national catalog of collected strains of pathogenic microorganisms and viruses. The catalog is expected to contain and promptly update information on all disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
This came after Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, said in early May that investigators had managed to identify a scope of persons involved in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, including representatives of the US defense ministry and companies with an amount of funding surpassing $224 million.
Bastrykin added that the US consistently conducted work on the modernization and re-equipment of some 30 scientific institutions related to the Ukrainian health and agriculture ministry, as well as several sanitary and epidemiological facilities of the Ukrainian defense ministry.
In April, Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense of the Russian Armed Forces, said that Russian intelligence officers had found three Ukrainian drones equipped with sprayers of chemical substances in the Kherson region, adding that in January 2022, Ukraine purchased more than 50 similar devices that can be used to apply biological formulations and toxic chemicals.
The remarks were preceded by
the Russian Defense Ministry revealing in March that the US had spent more than $200 million on the operation of biological laboratories in Ukraine, which Moscow says were part of the American military biological program. According to the Ministry, the investment fund of Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, was participating in financing the program.