Russia Has Not Received Response From US and Ukraine Regarding Biolabs Near Its Borders: Envoy

On November 26, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian Armed Forces, said that Russia is concerned about US-controlled tests of infectious agents on military personnel and mental patients in Ukraine.

Russia has not received an exhaustive response from the United States and Ukraine regarding US biological and military activities on Ukrainian territory under the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Russia's permanent representative to the Geneva-based UN headquarters, Gennady Gatilov, said.

"We still have not received a proper and meaningful response to the documents and evidence presented, which shed light on the true nature of interaction between the Pentagon and its contractors and the Ukrainian side in the field of military and biological activities," he said.

The diplomat added that Russia's complaint was ignored and its proposal for an international investigation under the auspices of the UNSC under Article VI of the BWC was blocked by the United States.

Earlier, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian Armed Forces, said that a network of more than 30 biological laboratories had been formed on the territory of Ukraine, which worked in the interests of the Pentagon. According to him, everything for the continuation of the US military-biological program was removed from Ukraine after the start of the Russian special military operation.

Earlier this month, Kirillov recalled that former US President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton had participated in formulating the US drive for global dominance in bioweapons research. He said that Bolton led the US delegation to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention's Fifth Review Conference in November-December 2001. Later, the US blocked the operation of the UN body's verification mechanism, as well as proposed measures to check bioweapons storage sites, citing threats such verification measures would pose to US "national interests." Bolton also characterized the BWC's verification protocol as "dead," and promised that it's "not going to be resurrected."

Igor Kirillov accompanied his presentation with a fresh trove of documents, including papers related to US efforts to build up the country's military-biological potential.