DISINFO: Germany was involved in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine
SUMMARY
On behalf of the Central Medical and Health Service of the German Armed Forces, a number of projects were used in Ukraine to carry out tests on biological weapons. The specialists of the German Armed Forces paid special attention to the pathogen causing Congo-Crimean fever. A comprehensive screening of the local population's susceptibility to this infection was carried out, combining demographic, epidemiological and clinical data. Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry had presented evidence of US culpability in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
RESPONSE
Recurring conspiracy theory alleging that Germany develops biological weapons in Ukraine. These claims are made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
The German Armed Forces Press Service denied these accusations and described them as clearly not true. In a statement obtained by StopFake, the Bundeswehr said that the Russian media allegations probably referred to the Ukrainian-German biosecurity initiative, which aims to control the risks of zoonotic diseases near the EU's external bord. However, no research related to biological weapons has been carried out under this project.
As far as Ukraine is concerned, improving biosecurity and public health, especially in the east of the country, has been an acute challenge since 2014 - with the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. Basic diagnostic methods for pathogens are often not available in eastern Ukraine, so sources of contamination with dangerous infectious diseases cannot be detected quickly. Since 2016, the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces (IMB) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have therefore been implementing a cooperation project in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine as part of the German Biosafety Programme to sustainably improve the biosafety situation in Ukraine and stabilise the public health situation.
Besides Ukraine, similar projects are underway in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tunisia and the five African countries of the Sahel Group.
Read the full debunk by StopFake.org (German/Russian/Ukrainian).
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