US biological laboratories in Ukraine a direct threat: Russia

New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) The presence of biological laboratories in Ukraine under the leadership of the US completely changes the role of Washington, it is an instrument of a direct threat to Russia, said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

If on February 24 the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has already sent relevant instructions to biolaboratories throughout Ukraine, this means it has been turned on, it means that the emergency plan has been put into action,” Zakharova said, RT reported.

She added that such laboratories were the points of American military experiments in the biological field.

“This completely changes the picture of US involvement in the fate of Ukraine: it is not just an instrument of influence, it is not just an instrument of containment, it is an instrument of a direct threat to our country,” Zakharova summed up.

Earlier, Russia said that more than 30 laboratories in Lviv, Kharkov and Poltava were working with dangerous infectious agents as part of the US-led military biological programme.

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that the US was afraid of confirmation of the facts of violation of the convention on the prohibition of biological weapons in Ukraine, RT reported.

Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that the US was trying to prevent the Russian forces from getting research materials from biological laboratories in Ukraine.

“Ukraine has facilities for biological research. We are concerned that Russian troops may try to take control of them, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how to prevent any of these research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces,” RIA Novosti quoted her as saying.

–IANS

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