Russia’s Biolab Accusations Have Come Home
Moscow has spent years knocking on the doors of biological laboratories in Ukraine. It should start by opening its own.
In May 2022, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, questioned the United States and Ukraine about 30 Ukrainian labs allegedly funded by Washington and conducting dangerous military-biological research, including pathogens such as plague, anthrax, tularemia, and cholera. Nebenzya demanded that these labs be put under international control.
Moscow has denied any lab accidents or infections and claims that the death of Darya Shipilova at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute was unrelated to her work. However, Russian media reports suggest Shipilova contracted pneumonic plague after breaking a test tube containing Yersinia pestis, a bacterium used in plague research.
The World Health Organization and the White House have urged Russia to reveal its findings. Founded in 1934, the Irkutsk institute has a history of studying deadly infectious diseases and has ties to Soviet biological-weapons programs. Despite the potential risks, Irkutsk continues to conduct biological-security and counter-bioterrorism research.
So far, only China has supported a U.N. Security Council investigation into Russia's allegations, while the United States, Britain, and France have voted against it.
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