Kremlin recycles old narratives to claim Ukraine is constructing dirty bombs and bioweapons
In a further attempt to justify its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin once again accused Ukraine of provoking Russia by developing dirty bombs and biological weapons. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed on March 6 that the Security Service of Ukraine and Azov Battalion “mined a reactor at an experimental nuclear facility at the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology” in order to “accuse Russia of creating an ecological catastrophe.” The claim was based on an “alert” from Russia’s Ministry of Defense and quotes from the Kremlin-owned outlet Sputnik. The accusation is the latest in a series over the last two weeks in which Russian officials and Kremlin media have claimed without evidence that Ukraine was creating a dirty bomb.
That same day, the Russian Defense Ministry asserted that it had obtained documentary proof that Ukraine and the US had collaborated to develop biological weapons. According to Major General Igor Konashenkov, who made the announcement, “In the course of a special military operation, the facts of an emergency cleansing by the Kyiv regime of traces of a military biological program being implemented in Ukraine, funded by the US Department of Defense, were uncovered.” According to TASS, the US and Ukraine attempted to destroy samples of “plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases” on February 24, the day of Russia’s invasion. TASS published digital scans of several documents the defense ministry claimed were evidence of the bioweapons program, though did not elaborate further on their provenance.
The Kremlin has repeatedly used forged documents, including false signatures, as part of previous influence operations, notably the campaign that the DFRLab referred to as Operation Secondary Infektion in its 2019 investigation of Russian influence activities.
On February 7, the Kremlin doubled down on its allegations. According t
In a further attempt to justify its invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin once again accused Ukraine of provoking Russia by developing dirty bombs and biological weapons. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed on March 6 that the Security Service of Ukraine and Azov Battalion “mined a reactor at an experimental nuclear facility at the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology” in order to “accuse Russia of creating an ecological catastrophe.” The claim was based on an “alert” from Russia’s Ministry of Defense and quotes from the Kremlin-owned outlet Sputnik. The accusation is the latest in a series over the last two weeks in which Russian officials and Kremlin media have claimed without evidence that Ukraine was creating a dirty bomb.
That same day, the Russian Defense Ministry asserted that it had obtained documentary proof that Ukraine and the US had collaborated to develop biological weapons. According to Major General Igor Konashenkov, who made the announcement, “In the course of a special military operation, the facts of an emergency cleansing by the Kyiv regime of traces of a military biological program being implemented in Ukraine, funded by the US Department of Defense, were uncovered.” According to TASS, the US and Ukraine attempted to destroy samples of “plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases” on February 24, the day of Russia’s invasion. TASS published digital scans of several documents the defense ministry claimed were evidence of the bioweapons program, though did not elaborate further on their provenance.
The Kremlin has repeatedly used forged documents, including false signatures, as part of previous influence operations, notably the campaign that the DFRLab referred to as Operation Secondary Infektion in its 2019 investigation of Russian influence activities.
On February 7, the Kremlin doubled down on its allegations. According t
