Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announced that documents obtained by Russia in Ukraine reveal that the goal of biological research that was funded by the United States in Ukraine was to create a secret mechanism for the spread of deadly pathogens.
Konashenkov said that Russia will soon publish these documents, which it obtained from Ukrainian employees of biological laboratories.
He added that - according to the documents - the American side planned to work on pathogens of birds, bats and reptiles in Ukraine in 2022, and that the Russian Ministry of Defense continues to analyze documents submitted by workers in Ukrainian biological laboratories about US military biological activities on Ukrainian territory.
"The numbered birds released from biological laboratories in Ukraine were captured in the Russian regions of Ivanovo and Voronezh," Sputnik news agency reported, quoting the Russian Defense Ministry.
It also quoted the commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, as saying that the American, Ukrainian and Georgian laboratories are implementing a project near the Russian borders in which bats are considered carriers of biological weapons.
Kirillov said - during a press conference - "The Pentagon is also interested in insect vectors that can spread dangerous infectious diseases. The analysis of the received materials confirms the fact that more than 140 containers containing external parasites of bats (fleas and ticks) were transferred from the biological laboratory in Kharkiv abroad." .
American exile
On the other hand, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki denied what she described as false Russian allegations about the presence of US biological and chemical weapons laboratories in Ukraine, and denounced what she described as the Chinese officials' repeated conspiracy theory, as she put it.
Saki said - in a series of tweets - that this claim is unreasonable, and part of what she described as Russian misinformation over the years, as she put it, noting that it is necessary to be alert to the possibility of Russia using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
For her part, the British Foreign Secretary told CNN that there is talk of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, and that Russia has done so in the past, stressing that this would be a grave mistake if it happened.
On Wednesday, Russia demanded that 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 - which are located in the immediate vicinity of our territory - biological weapons components are being developed," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman 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.
And the Russian Defense Ministry said last Monday - in a statement - that research was carried out on plague bacteria and anthrax in a biological laboratory in the city of Lviv (western Ukraine) as part of a military biological program.
"An analysis of the destruction shows the use of 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 Kirilov was quoted by Sputnik as saying.