Misleading: There are several U.S.-funded Biolabs in Ukraine.

By: Sandesh M
March 28 2022

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Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation on February 24, 2022, claiming that Moscow was trying to overthrow a neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. The U.S., the U.K., and several other countries have responded by imposing a raft of sanctions. Russia has given various justifications for its attack on Ukraine, some of which are based on misleading or false statements. Putin and his allies have repeatedly said that the U.S. has set up "Biolabs" all over Ukraine where it is secretly developing biological weapons by conducting dangerous experiments using deadly pathogens. A fact sheet from the U.S Department of Defence notes that the U.S. has provided funding for Ukraine to research deadly diseases. It notes that all member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) are required to have these facilities in order to recognize and reduce the threat of these outbreaks. The U.S. has invested $200 million since 2005 to develop laboratories, health facilities, and diagnostic sites in Ukraine. Researchers work with pathogens that cause disease. The details of these facilities and their donors can be easily found online. There is no evidence that these sites are being used to develop biological weapons. Other independent fact-checkers have debunked similar claims about the existence of secret Biolabs in Ukraine. Funding has been provided to research diseases, but there is no evidence of these laboratories being used to develop biological weapons. As such, we have marked the claim as misleading.