Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The accusations was first launched in March 2022, just after the invasion began.
Modern conflicts are fought just as fiercely in the media as they are on the actual battlefield.
Spinning complex narratives to rally public support is an ancient tactic, and sometimes old storylines get recycled when a fresh justification is needed.
We saw it leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when Putin claimed that the Russian military operation in Ukraine was necessary to protect people being subjects to abuse and genocide.
But that is not even close to being the only “argument” used by the Kremlin to justify the war – and now Moscow is dusting off some of its most dramatic wartime claims
Recycled stories
On May 27, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, known as the CCD, warned that Russia has launched a fresh propaganda push to defend its actions.
The latest spark came from Russia’s Investigative Committee. A representative claimed the agency has proof concerning “the development of bioweapons with US funding and with the participation of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian officials say these claims are part of a predictable loop. Even though international groups have thoroughly debunked the accusations, Moscow has kept a criminal investigation open since 2022.
Shadows and mosquitoes
Ukrainian news outlet LB.ua notes that these biological plotlines have been a main feature of the war since the initial invasion. The claims have frequently drifted into the bizarre.
In early 2022, state actors regularly talked about dangerous experiments. They alleged that Ukraine was tracking coronavirus-carrying bats and doing “work with pathogens of birds and reptiles with a subsequent transition to studying the possibility of them carrying African swine fever and anthrax,” according to media reports.
Top officials kept the narrative alive. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed the weapons were targeted at specific ethnic groups, while other officials claimed the U.S. ran dozens of secret human experimentation labs.
United24Media reports that the claims peaked at the United Nations in late 2022. That is when Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya alleged that Ukraine had built special drones to unleash “combat mosquitoes” infected with diseases.
The real facilities
Despite the loud accusations, international investigators have found absolutely nothing.
The United Nations and the World Health Organization looked closely at places like the Mechnikov Anti-Plague Institute in Odesa and found entirely normal public health facilities.
Meanwhile, satellite imagery shows that Russia is actually upgrading its own mysterious military research sites. Changes are underway at Sergiyev Posad-6 near Moscow. New imagery reveals advanced air systems and heavy security.
Sources: Center for Countering Disinformation, Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, LB.ua, United Nations, World Health Organization, Russian Foreign Ministry, United24Media
