UN says no evidence of biological weapons in Ukraine, bucking Russian claims

The United Nations said on Friday it has no evidence of any biological weapons programme in Ukraine despite Russia's repeated and so far unsubstantiated claims.

Izumi Nakamitsu, the top UN official for disarmament, told the Security Council that she is aware of the charges, but said the international body has no information that would corroborate them.

Nakamitsu pointed to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which bans the development and use of biological and other toxic weapons.

The senior UN official was speaking during a council session called by Russia to discuss its allegations that the US has been aiding Ukraine in its alleged development of "biological activities." Both the US and Ukraine have denied the charge.

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The US said Russia called for Friday's convening of the Security Council "for the sole purpose of lying and" to "spread disinformation" with the intent of obfuscating responsibility for a potential chemical or biological attack.

"Russia has a track record of falsely accusing other countries of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating, and given that, and consistent with our previous statements, we have serious concerns that Russia may be planning to use chemical or biological agents against the Ukrainian people," said Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

"We’re not going to let Russia get away with lying to the world, or staining the integrity of the Security Council by using this forum as a venue for legitimizing Putin’s violence," she added.

Vassily Nebenzyia, Russia's UN envoy, charged the US with aiding Ukraine with developing a network of at least 30 bioweapon facilities, and accused the Ukrainian government of having an "interest" in using biological or chemical weapons. Kyiv steadfastly denies such, and says the Kremlin's charges are troubling.

Nakamitsu's comments denying the UN's corroborating information were echoed by several Security Council member states. Nebenzyia cited the fact, saying "Many of you said that you are unaware of the military biological programmes in Ukraine."

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"That doesn’t mean that they didn’t exist in actual fact. The military development is a secret enterprise, and those who are involved in that do not report to Ms Nikamitsu about it,” he said.

Thomas-Greenfield said the US has assisted Ukraine with developing the means to identify and diagnose diseases like Covid-19 as part of Kyiv's public health efforts, and said such efforts have been done "proudly, clearly and out in the open."

"This work has everything to do with protecting the health of people. It has absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing to do with biological weapons," she said.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's envoy, said that by calling Friday's session the "aggressor state," referring to Russia, has shot "itself in [the] foot yet again."

"Ukraine runs a health system that is totally in full compliance with its international obligations, and in full cooperation with all relevant international obligations," he said. "The rest is a bunch of insane delirium of Putin and his henchmen, including the Russian mission to the United Nations."