SBU: No US biological laboratories in Ukraine

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) calls on politicians not to spread false information about the alleged existence of foreign military biological laboratories in Ukraine.

“Recently, ‘fake news’ about the alleged activities of American military biological laboratories in Ukraine has been spread in the media and social networks … No foreign biological laboratories operate in Ukraine. Statements recently made by individual politicians are not true and are a deliberate distortion of the facts,” the SBU said on Facebook on May 7.

The SBU notes that, as a rule, they don’t respond to such rumors, but “since such publications, without reference to any facts and sources, from the submission of individual political parties have signs of a planned information campaign, the purpose of which is not just to receive political dividends, but against the backdrop of the fight against coronavirus, to sow panic in society, the SBU considers it appropriate to respond to this.”

The SBU said cooperation between Ukraine and the United States on countering biological terrorism takes place exclusively within the framework of Ukrainian legislation and in the interests of Ukraine.

“Since 1993, an agreement has been in force to provide assistance to Ukraine in eliminating strategic nuclear weapons and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. One of its points is the timely detection and counteraction to outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens,” the SBU said.

According to the SBU, in 2005 the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the U.S. Department of Defense signed a framework agreement to prevent the spread of technologies, pathogens and knowledge that can be used in the development of biological weapons. As part of this Agreement, a number of state laboratories located in Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk regions were modernized (repair work was carried out, equipment was updated, supplies were purchased, etc.).

“We emphasize that these laboratories are financed from the state budget, are subordinate to the Ministry of Health and the state service on food safety and consumer protection,” the SBU said.