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Ukraine has developed no chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, according to the country’s president, who warned Russia that using biological weapons against his country would result in the “most severe sanctions.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s reaction came after Russia accused his country of conducting biological weapons research.
“I am the President of a sufficient country, a sufficient nation. In addition, he is the father of two children. And on my land, no chemical or other weapons of mass destruction were developed “In a video posted on Friday morning, Zelensky stated.
“The entire world is aware of this. You are aware of this. And if Russia does something similar against us, it will face the most severe sanctions “He stated.
In a televised briefing on Thursday, Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated that the goal of the research, which was funded by the US, was to “create a mechanism for the stealthy spread of lethal pathogens.”
According to Konashenkov, the ministry obtained documents detailing US military-biological activities in Ukraine, including the transfer of Ukrainians’ biomaterial abroad.
Washington, he said, “planned to conduct research on bird, bat, and reptile pathogens,” as well as African swine fever and anthrax.
“Biolaboratories established and funded in Ukraine have been experimenting with bat coronavirus samples,” Konashenkov continued.
Later Thursday, following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated the claim, claiming that Washington had funded the development of biological weapons in Ukraine.
“This work was done in complete secrecy by the Americans. Creating military-biological labs right along Russia’s borders, as they do in other former Soviet states, “He stated.
Both Washington and Kiev have rejected the notion of bioweapons laboratories in the country, which has been bombarded by tens of thousands of Russian troops since February 24.
Russia has repeatedly accused the US of conducting secret biological experiments in a lab in Georgia, another former Soviet republic that, like Ukraine, aspires to join NATO and the EU.
