▶ Construction began immediately after the outbreak of the Ukraine War… “Construction of 10 additional buildings”
▶ Russia also discloses Ebola research… Claims to “research biological weapons defense methods”
Russia, which has intensified its confrontation with the West following its invasion of Ukraine, has been found to be expanding a large number of military research facilities, which were notorious for developing biological weapons during the former Soviet Union.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 25th, Russian authorities have begun large-scale construction at a facility called ‘Sergiev Posat-6’ in the military-restricted zone northeast of Moscow in 2022.
WP reported that this construction, which began several months after the outbreak of the Ukraine War, is being carried out on an area of 250,000 square feet (approximately 7,000 pyeong), including renovating existing buildings and constructing 10 additional buildings.
What is noteworthy is that this facility was used to study the weaponization of deadly infectious diseases such as smallpox, plague, and Ebola viruses during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Western intelligence officials were concerned that expanding this facility, which had been quiet for decades since the end of the Cold War, could be a move by Russia to resume biological weapons research in earnest.
In fact, WP pointed out that many of the newly built buildings show characteristics of facilities that handle extremely dangerous pathogens.
Looking at satellite images taken over the past two years by U.S. commercial satellite companies Maxar and Planet Labs, dozens of air conditioning units (AHUs) were installed on the roofs of four of the newly built buildings inside ‘Sergiev Posat-6’.
Experts pointed out that this is a characteristic seen in research facilities whose interiors are divided by partitions due to concerns about contamination.
The highest biosafety level (BSL-4) research facility that handles extremely dangerous pathogens is equipped with air pressure control and filtration facilities and thoroughly separates the laboratory from other spaces to protect scientists from infection.
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Andrew Weber, who studied Soviet biological weapons facilities in the 1990s, explained that in such facilities, the internal air must be replaced 12 to 15 times per hour and the internal pressure must be maintained below atmospheric pressure.
Former Assistant Secretary Weber said he was concerned about Russia’s decision to add new research capabilities inside a secretive military facility that is notorious for its past role in biological weapons research.
Michael Duitzman, an expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) in the U.S., said that considering the tremendous technological advancements that have occurred since the end of the Cold War, “if the (bioweapons) program were to resume, (weaponization) capabilities would be greatly enhanced (compared to the past).” “It can happen,” he warned.
Satellite photos taken of Sergiev Posat-6 also captured circumstances in which the highest level of security system was in place, including cutting down surrounding forests and severely restricting movement to ensure visibility.
There are no signs that the Russian military has used biological weapons in Ukraine or elsewhere, but Western intelligence agencies are monitoring related trends.
Meanwhile, some Russian officials revealed that scientists belonging to Sergiev Posat-6 were actually researching the Ebola virus.
Sergei Borisevich, the military commander in charge of this facility, said in an interview with the Russian military newspaper ‘Red Star’ in April, “(This site) is the basis of Russia’s biological defense system,” and “(Sergiev Posat-6) “It is designed to develop medical methods to protect soldiers and residents from biological weapons,” he claimed.
Experts estimated that Russia, which had been spreading a conspiracy theory that the United States was helping Ukraine develop biological weapons as the short-term war failed to bring Ukraine to its knees and the war was prolonged, appears to have used this as an excuse to revive biological weapons-related facilities in the country.
Former Assistant Secretary Weber said, “They will never admit to having biological weapons, but there is a subtle hint hidden in what they (Russia) say,” adding, “It means ‘we have a (biological weapons) capability and we are not going to use it.'” “Don’t think about it,” he interpreted.
Meanwhile, it is known that biological weapons development facilities and vaccine development facilities are almost impossible to distinguish from the outside. WP reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense did not respond to related inquiries.
