Are there biological weapons in Ukraine? What the UN found

The UN has no information on any “biological weapons program” in Ukraine, said Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the World Organization, during a meeting of the Security Council.

At the same time, Nakamitsu warned that the possibility of an accident at Ukraine’s nuclear power plant is growing by the day. She added that situations such as the war in Ukraine call for a stronger international ban on biological weapons.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that in practice, at a meeting of the UN Security Council convened today by Russia to discuss Moscow’s claims, presented without evidence, of US “biological activities” in Ukraine, is the potential spread of misinformation in action.

Reiterating Washington’s position that Ukraine does not have a US-backed biological weapons program or such laboratories in Ukraine, Thomas Greenfield said Russia is the one that can use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. Although she did not immediately provide evidence of an imminent threat, during a meeting of the 15-member council, she said: “Russia has experience in falsely accusing other countries of violations committed by Russia itself,” BTA reported.

For his part, at a meeting of the Security Council, Russia’s ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that a network of about 40 biological laboratories in Ukraine had worked – with US funding – to enhance the pathogenic properties of deadly diseases, TASS reported.

Earlier, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said there were “credible reports that Russian forces were using cluster bombs, including in populated areas.”

These “indiscriminate attacks”, which hit both military and civilian targets “without distinction”, are prohibited by international humanitarian law, she said.

The UN has received information about 26 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine, which killed 12 people, including an attack on a clinic in the city of Mariupol.

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