Was the U.S. Making Biological Weapons in Ukraine?

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American Greatness

For a long time, Western companies have conducted much of their “dirty work” in other countries. Places like Mexico, Nigeria, and China have been popular because they are comparatively lax on worker safety, environmental protection, and transparency. Older readers may recall how Shell’s oil exploration in Nigeria and the conditions of the maquiladoras in Juarez used to be a common complaint of leftist activists, but you don’t hear much about “sweatshops” anymore. 

Private companies know that the United States and Western Europe have strict laws and minimal corruption; it could destroy a company’s reputation and financials if it were to do the things at home that it does rather freely abroad. By contrast, when something is really important or really sensitive, it only makes sense to do it at home, where it can be done right and to the highest standards. 

This is what makes the Russian and Chinese allegations about U.S. biological weapons facilities in Ukraine so peculiar. At first, it all sounded like internet “schizo posting.” It seemed highly unlikely that significant American resources would be devoted to such research, particularly in unstable Ukraine. On the flip side, the military and the CIA have conducted some of their dirty work overseas, including the controversial “black sites” and “renditioning” programs during the War on Terror. 

 

While I do not know exactly what happened, I do know a liar when I see one, and U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland manifested the telltale signs of deception at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. When asked by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) if Ukraine has “chemical or biological weapons,” Nuland never answered yes or no, but instead, speaking slowly and uncomfortably, said that Ukraine merely has “biological research facilities.” This appeared to rattle Rubio, who had to move fast to blame any potential problems with these labs, including any release of their contents, on the Russians. Off the hook for her earlier admission, Nuland enthusiastically agreed. 

There is a huge contradiction of saying, on the one hand, that these are just harmless research labs, and, at the same time, if Russian forces somehow released the contents of these labs it would be a major disaster.

Why in the world is the Department of Defense operating biological labs in Ukraine or anywhere else for that matter? Presumably, the Pentagon’s only interest in this subject is to make weapons or weapon countermeasures. It may well be the latter, as these programs are long-standing. The U.S. government even funded former Soviet labs in Russia in order to secure potentially dangerous source materials. But the publicly stated fear of these labs’ takeover makes the benign explanation less believable. :snip:

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Breaking: Russia Convenes UN Security Council Meeting to Present BioLab Evidence — Friday at 11 AM

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US intel head rejects Russia's claims about Ukraine biolabs

 

The head of the U.S. intelligence community said Thursday that biolabs in Ukraine do not produce weapons or conduct dangerous research, slamming claims to the contrary as "classic" Russian propaganda.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Ukraine "operates a little over a dozen" biolabs for biodefense and public health response. She said the U.S. has, at least in the past, "provided assistance" to the labs "in the context of biosafety."

"Which is something we have done with a variety of different countries," she added.

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Russia’s Claim of Chemical, Bio Labs in Ukraine Is a Ruse - Peter Brooks

In the latest in a series of specious and outlandish justifications for its illegal, immoral, and brutal invasion of sovereign Ukraine, Russia is claiming that Washington and Kyiv are working together to develop chemical and biological weapons.

Pure Putin propaganda.

Indeed, according to the U.S. State Department this week:

The United States does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine, it is in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention, and it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.

 

On the other hand, the State Department notes:

It is Russia that has active chemical and biological weapons programs and is in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention.

No surprises in that State Department claim, considering that Russian operatives have used the Novichok nerve agent to attack former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and Russian political dissident Alexei Navalny in recent years.