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Washington and Moscow have been exchanging accusations over possible use of biological weapons in Ukraine, with Russians expecting to reveal “more ugly facts” about US activities and Americans warning the former Soviets were getting desperate.
US President Joe Biden suggested on Monday that Moscow’s recent allegations that America had biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine illustrated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was considering using bio warfare himself.
"That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those,” Biden said.
The US President did not back up the claim with any evidence during a Business Roundtable event but said Moscow’s assertions were “simply not true” and further suggested that his Russian counterpart had his back “against the wall and now he's talking about new false flags.”
'If you can refute what we have presented, please do it, but stop accusing us without any grounds of indulging in propaganda, because we have shared concrete facts'
Biden made the comments one day after Moscow insisted on its allegations against the superpower in the west, with an official statement on Sunday saying “Russia’s special operation in Ukraine will reveal more ugly facts like those about the United States’ military biological activities in the post-Soviet space.”
On Sunday, Moscow’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia went on Russian television claiming the west knew “perfectly well that if and when the goals of the special military operation are attained, a lot of ugly facts, which are kept secret so far, will surface, not only about military biological activities, but about many other things.”
The United Nations have not confirmed Moscow’s allegations while US officials have only admitted that American-funded labs in Ukraine were "biological research facilities."
But Nebenzia said the argument that the UN did not confirm military biological developments in Ukraine and other post-Soviet locations was “ridiculous.”
"It is ridiculous because military biological developments… are secret a priori. Those who engage in such activities never report to anyone, including the United States," Nebenzia said according to the Russian News Agency.
Russia's defense ministry has accused Kiev of planning a chemical attack against its own people in order to blame Moscow and justify calls for NATO intervention.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that US national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, warning him of consequences for "any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine."
But Moscow, which has yet to provide concrete evidence against Kiev, called on Western countries and Ukraine to “stop accusing Moscow of propaganda without any grounds.”
"If you can refute what we have presented, please do it. But stop accusing us without any grounds of indulging in propaganda, because we have shared concrete facts," Nebenzia said.
