Status: 03/11/2022 12:36 p.m
The WHO warns of dangers that could emanate from destroyed Ukrainian research laboratories. She advises destroying pathogens as a precaution. An information war has been raging around Ukrainian laboratories for some time.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens in laboratories in the country. Otherwise there could be danger for the population if the laboratories were destroyed during the Russian advance and the pathogens were released, reports the Reuters news agency and refers to the WHO.
The facilities are about public health laboratories like those that exist in many countries and in which research was carried out on dangerous diseases, it said. Covid-19 is also among them. According to the information, the facilities were supported not only by the WHO but also by the USA and the EU. The WHO said it was working together on laboratory safety to prevent “accidental or intentional release of pathogens.”
“As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and other relevant bodies destroy high-risk pathogens to prevent potential spills,” the organization said. She did not say what kind of pathogens and toxins were stored in the facilities.
Information war over laboratories
A disinformation war has been raging around the Ukrainian laboratories for some time, which has intensified with the Russian attack on Ukraine. The Russian government has repeatedly claimed that the US operates a bioweapons laboratory in Ukraine. Both Ukraine and the US have repeatedly denied this.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this week that Russian troops had found documents in Ukraine that “showed an emergency attempt to erase evidence of military biological programs.” The US government had also rejected this, saying that Russia could use this as an excuse to use chemical or biological weapons itself.
The Russian allegations are also said to be discussed later in the day at a UN Security Council meeting that Russia has requested.
conflicting parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body.
WHO offers help
The WHO warning contained no reference to bioweapons. All parties are encouraged to work together to safely dispose of pathogens and to seek help when necessary, it said. The WHO stands ready for this wherever possible.
In an earlier statement, a WHO spokesman said there were no indications of any activities by the Ukrainian government that would contravene international agreements – not even in the case of chemical or biological weapons.