Russia demanded on Wednesday the United States provide an official explanation to the international community about what it said was the activity of US biological and bacteriological laboratories in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said - during a press briefing - that Russia has repeatedly warned of US biological activities near its borders, noting that it is a violation of the relevant treaties.
Zakharova added that her country had found evidence of biological activities during the military operations carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine since February 24.
"We can already conclude that in the Ukrainian biological laboratories located in the immediate vicinity of the territory of our country, biological weapons components are being developed," the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
However, on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described Russian information about a supposed biological program supported by Washington in Ukraine as false and absurd.
A Ukrainian presidential spokesman also denied that his country has any military biological program, and described the Russian statements as allegations.
Yesterday, Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said - in a statement - that research was carried out on plague and anthrax bacteria in a biological laboratory in the city of Lviv (western Ukraine) as part of a military biological program.
"The analysis of the destruction shows the work with pathogens of plague, anthrax and brucellosis in the Lviv Biological Laboratory, and pathogens of diphtheria, salmonellosis and dysentery in laboratories in Kharkiv and Poltava," the commander of the radiological, chemical and biological protection forces of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kirillov was quoted by the Russian Sputnik agency as saying.