“The Russian representation asked for a meeting #Security Advisor on March 11 to discuss the military biological activities of the United States in the territory #Ukraine“Polyansky said.
The claim of US “biological activity” in Ukraine, presented without evidence, was dismissed by the Biden administration as Russian disinformation.
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“This is exactly the kind of false flag we have warned Russia might use to justify a biological or chemical attack,” Olivia Dalton, spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said late Thursday, according to The Associated Press. . “We will not allow Russia to gasify the world or use the UN Security Council as a platform for spreading its disinformation.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also denied Russia’s allegations in a video message to his war-torn nation posted Thursday on Facebook.
“Neither chemical nor any other weapons of mass destruction were developed on my land. The whole world knows it,” he said.
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“We are accused … of allegedly developing biological weapons, allegedly preparing a chemical attack. It worries me a lot, ”he added, noting that he is the father of two children.
“They are the ones who can do it,” he said, referring to Russia. “They have already done this kind of thing in other countries… and will do it again,” he added. “Using ammonia? The use of phosphorus? What else have you prepared for us?
Zelenskiy said the labs in Ukraine are “dealing with conventional science…not military hardware.” He also warned that if Russia deployed such chemical weapons, it should prepare for “the toughest sanctions response ever.”
“We have been repeatedly convinced that if you want to know the plans of Russia, look at what Russia accuses others of,” he added.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told reporters on Thursday that “the use of chemical weapons in any conflict and in any context is a flagrant violation of international law.”
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A day earlier, Dujarric told reporters that the World Health Organization is working with the Ukrainian government and “is not aware of any activity by the Ukrainian government that is inconsistent with its obligations under international treaties, including in relation to chemical weapons or biological weapons.” ”
Elsewhere, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also suggested on Thursday that Russia’s accusations could be a “cynical” pretext for its own actions.
“What you hear about chemical weapons is straight out of their textbook,” Johnson told Sky News. “They start saying that there are chemical weapons that are kept by their opponents or by the Americans, and therefore, when they themselves deploy chemical weapons – and I am afraid that they can do this – they get some kind of “disguise”, a fake story. ready to go.”
Negotiations between Ukraine’s and Russia’s top diplomats on March 10 did not lead to a ceasefire agreement, with Mariupol, Ukraine, rushing to bury the dead. (Alexa Juliana Ard/The Washington Post)
The White House warned this week that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that Russia has long “supported a biological weapons program in violation of international law” and cited its military intervention in Syria in support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in 2020 with a Novichok-like nerve agent. .
Psaki called Russian claims about US-backed biolabs in Ukraine “absurd” and “false”.
During a briefing at the White House on Thursday, she also said that Russia has the “capacity” to use such weapons against its neighbor. Asked what evidence the United States had to support the claim that Russia has these weapons, Psaki replied that she would not “go into specific intelligence” but reiterated that “Russia is a country that has a program chemical and biological weapons”.
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Psaki made the comment after Russian officials accused the United States of developing such weapons in Ukraine.
Dmitry Chumakov, Russia’s deputy envoy to the UN, on Wednesday urged Western media to cover “news about secret biological laboratories in Ukraine,” according to the Associated Press.
Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also told reporters on Wednesday that Russia had concluded that “biological weapons components are being developed in Ukrainian laboratories near our borders.”
The United States also struck back at Beijing for echo Moscow “conspiracy theories”.
“This Russian military operation exposed the secret of American laboratories in Ukraine, and it is not something that can be viewed superficially,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Thursday, according to the Associated Press, echoing similar claims. he did earlier this week. “It’s not something they can confuse by saying that China’s statement and Russia’s conclusions are disinformation, absurd and ridiculous.”
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Although China claims it has not been involved in the conflict—neither condemning the Russian invasion nor openly supporting it—state media and Chinese foreign ministry officials regularly repeat Russian propaganda, and the Russian biolab theory has quickly spread online, racking up millions of views on the Internet. social media platform Weibo.
The maniacal obsession with which Russian officials fantasize about non-existent biological or chemical weapons or threats in Ukraine is deeply disturbing and may actually indicate that Russia is preparing another horrific false flag operation. This tweet is for the record.
— Dmitry Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 10, 2022
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Thursday: “The maniacal obsession with which various Russian officials fantasize about non-existent biological or chemical weapons or dangers in Ukraine is deeply troubling and may actually indicate that Russia is preparing another horrific false flag operation.”