Ukraine reports on Russia’s development of biological weapons to NATO
Ukraine provided NATO with information on the possible development by Russia of biological and chemical weapons. The Ukrainian delegation handed over the corresponding report to the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Alliance ahead of their meeting in Warsaw on May 28. The Chairperson of the delegation and People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Friz wrote about the separate provisions of the document on her Facebook page on Saturday, May 26.
According to Friz, the conclusions of the report took into account the analysis of more than five thousand items of government procurement and the scientific activity of Russian institutions which are subordinate to the Russian Defense Ministry.
"[For] at least the last three years, Russia has been conducting research on hemorrhagic fever viruses, particularly Ebola and Marburg, masking this activity as attempts to develop vaccines," Friz says. "In fact, we are talking about a return to the Soviet-era development of a combination of the Ebola virus with the smallpox virus," she explains.
The Chairperson of the Ukrainian delegation said studies are underway indicating the development of "new combat toxic substances with the properties of nerve agents." The relevant report for that development was also submitted to the NATO Headquarters.
According to Friz, the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London with the use of polonium and the attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury are vivid examples of how the Russian Federation uses weapons of mass destruction abroad. All these aspects of development are serious threats coming from Russia's hybrid actions against other states, she added.