DISINFO: Americans inject Ukrainian soldiers with drugs and viruses for biological research

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: Americans inject Ukrainian soldiers with drugs and viruses for biological research

SUMMARY

The Americans give Ukrainian soldiers drugs until they became addicted, and then, under threat of imprisonment, sent them for biological research. In biological laboratories, they infect them with viruses, then watch how their bodies fight infection and produce antibodies.

RESPONSE

The article provides no evidence for its claims and promotes a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about biological weapons being secretly developed by the US in countries bordering Russia with the new twist of experiments being conducted on Ukrainian soldiers.

This narrative is a leitmotif in a years-old disinformation campaign conducted by the Kremlin and is currently deployed in an attempt to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Some of the most bizarre and yet enduring Kremlin disinformation narratives have been those accusing the West of running clandestine biological research programmes to wreak havoc around the world. In reality, all laboratories located in Ukraine are controlled by the Ukrainian government. In August 2005, the US and Ukrainian governments made an agreement to prevent the spread of dangerous pathogens and relevant expertise and to diminish potential biological risks. Partially, this agreement was aimed at modernising state laboratories in Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and other regions, consisting of upgrading lab equipment and repairs of premises.

The US Embassy in Ukraine previously addressed the claims about supposed bio-military labs in Ukraine, stating that this is a fabricated accusation in pro-Kremlin propaganda that aims to hinder the ongoing U.S.-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats. The accusations are part of the Kremlin’s broader, long-lasting disinformation campaign to discredit the US in the eyes of Putin’s pro-Western neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine.

More cases concerning bio-military labs in Ukraine include: the US used Ukrainian solders in biological weapons experiments; the Pentagon aims to test biological weapons on people in Ukraine; new evidence of US military-biological activity in Ukraine; the US has biological military activity in dozens of countries; the US created COVID-19 and biological weapons in Ukraine.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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