New Delhi: The World Health Organization has advised Ukraine to destroy "any pathogens" in public healthcare labs to prevent accidental spills in case Russia bombs any laboratories which could lead to a spread among the population, the UN body told Reuters.
Biosecurity experts have suggested that as Russia continues to progress into Ukraine and due to the constant bombardment, there is a risk of the pathogens escaping in case any of these facilities are damaged.
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Biowarfare Scare
According to Reuters, while WHO made no reference to biowarfare, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Wednesday claimed that the United States operates a biowarfare lab in Ukraine. She further said that this was an emergency call to destroy evidence of military biological programmes. Ukrainian presidential spokesperson strictly denied the claim.
Reacting to this the US White House press secretary Jen Psaki called Russia's claim "preposterous" and said it could be part of an attempt by Russia to lay the groundwork for itself using such weapons of mass destruction against Ukraine, reported AP.
"This is all an obvious ploy by Russia to try to justify its further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine," Psaki tweeted Wednesday.
The Biden administration has publicly warned that Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine as the White House rejected Russian claims of illegal chemical weapons development in the country it has invaded, AP further reported.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Friday, "Russian officials fantasize about non-existent biological or chemical weapons or hazards in Ukraine is deeply troubling and may actually point at Russia preparing another horrific false flag operation".
Public Health Laboratories
Just like other countries, Ukraine has been working on how to mitigate pathogens in both animals and humans including Covid-19. These laboratories have received support from the United States, the European Union, and the WHO. These public health labs have collaborated with WHO to work on securely storing these pathogens in a way there was no accidental or deliberate release of such pathogens, Reuters reported.
"As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills," the WHO, a United Nations agency told Reuters.