Department of Defense: US biolabs pose a threat to countries where they are located

The activities of American biological laboratories around the world are a source of biothreats, primarily for the population of the countries where they are located. This was stated by Igor Kirillov, Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces of the RF Armed Forces, at a briefing on US military biological activities.

Kirillov noted that the report of the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Health and the report of the National Advisory Council on Biodefense recognizes the unwillingness of US regulatory authorities to monitor research under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC).

“Given that the United States is not able to control its own biological objects, the activities of American laboratories around the world are a constant source of biothreats, primarily for the population of the countries where they are based,” Kirillov said.

Kirillov also noted that in 2001 the US blocked work on a legally binding BTWC protocol. Thus, the states “completely ruled out the possibility of international control of their military biological research.”

“Apparently, the American administration itself does not know the exact number of biological laboratories,” Kirillov said. He cited as an example the situation when, in March 2023, an underground biological laboratory was discovered in the United States, where, in particular, there were about 1,000 transgenic animals. The laboratory functioned, according to him, with gross violations of the basic principles of biosecurity.

“This is not an isolated case, confirming the lack of proper control over dual-use developments,” said Kirillov. At the same time, illegal military biological activities of the United States require “a legal assessment followed by an independent investigation,” he said.

Kirillov also announced the work in Ukraine of dozens of such facilities that have been removed from international control. The Pentagon confirmed the presence of Ukrainian-controlled biological laboratories, which, according to Kirillov, use illegal methods and technologies.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the principles enshrined in the BTWC are systematically violated. This applies to a number of countries that want to use international problems “to ensure their own biological security at the expense of others”, trying to interfere with emerging useful initiatives to counter biological threats. Russia, Putin added, is in favor of strengthening international mechanisms to prevent the development and proliferation of such weapons.

At the end of March, the Commission for the Parliamentary Investigation of the Activities of American Biological Laboratories confirmed the data of the Russian Defense Ministry about the creation of US and NATO military facilities in Ukraine under the guise of biological laboratories. The 200-page document stated that the United States maintains and develops the ability to create biological weapons components and, if necessary, produce and use them outside the national territory.