August 16, 2023

In a recent interview, Robert Kennedy Jr., a US presidential candidate for the 2024 elections, made a controversial statement alleging that the US has set up biological laboratories in Ukraine as part of its biological weapons programs under the Pentagon.

Kennedy Jr. conveyed to political commentator Tucker Carlson that these biological weapons are being developed using new synthetic biology techniques, incorporating advances like CRISPR technology and genetic engineering. Such techniques, he asserted, were not accessible to prior generations. This conversation between the two was later posted on the X social network, previously recognized as Twitter.

Kennedy Jr. shed light on the historical perspective, indicating that after the initiation of the Patriot Act in 2001, the Pentagon increased its investment in bioweapons. However, a notable apprehension existed, stemming from the Geneva Convention, which deems any violation as a significant offense. Given the magnitude of this concern, the responsibility for biosecurity was shifted to an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy Jr. highlighted a crucial aspect of bioweapons development: the parallel development of vaccines. He mentioned that using a bioweapon invariably leads to blowback, making the side deploying it susceptible to the same illness.

In contrast to these assertions, the US has explicitly refuted the establishment of biowarfare laboratories on Ukrainian soil.

Earlier in April, a report was released by a Russian parliamentary commission detailing its inquiry into the US-operated biological labs in Ukraine. The findings suggested that the Pentagon's military biological program had expanded extensively, operating ostensibly under anti-terrorist projects and activities sanctioned by the Biological Weapons Convention. An intriguing observation from the commission revealed that while Pentagon experts were involved in all the US-controlled labs, the host countries' government agencies were privy only to secondary research data.

The Russian defense ministry has also previously claimed evidence indicating a US-backed military biological program in Ukraine. This allegation includes the urgent destruction of hazardous pathogens by Ukrainian bio-labs post-Moscow's "special military operation" in February of the preceding year.

The implications of these claims, if true, can have significant geopolitical consequences. However, as of now, the onus remains on presenting substantial evidence to substantiate these allegations.