China doubles down on bizarre Russia conspiracy theory
China has doubled down on a bizarre conspiracy that is believed to be part of an elaborate ploy to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this week, a senior Chinese official accused the United States of running a series of biolabs in Russia, claiming the situation was “dangerous” and that the “safety” of the alleged labs were at risk.
“Under the current circumstances, for the sake of the health and safety of people in Ukraine, the surrounding region and the whole world, we call on all relevant parties to ensure the safety of these laboratories,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian during a recent press conference.
“In particular, the US, as the party with the best knowledge of these laboratories, should release relevant details as soon as possible, including what viruses are stored and what research has been conducted."
“What is the real intention of the US? What exactly did it do?”
Mr Zhao went on to claim that America's biological military activities in Ukraine were just the "tip of the iceberg", following a series of Russian reports that claim over 30 biolabs were in operation in Ukraine at the request of a US government agency.
However, the bizarre conspiracy theory seems to have originated from Russia back in April 2020.
At the time, the US embassy in Ukraine was forced to denounce the wild rumours, slamming them as “Russian disinformation regarding the strong US-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats”.
“The US Department of Defence’s Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities, while allowing for peaceful research and vaccine development,” the statement reads.
“We also work with our Ukrainian partners to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats."
“Our joint efforts help to ensure that dangerous pathogens do not fall into the wrong hands.”
The misinformation about the alleged biolabs has become so widespread that Britain's Defence Ministry has also weighed in.
“Since the end of February there has been a notable intensification of Russian accusations that Ukraine is developing nuclear or biological weapons,” the ministry said in a tweet yesterday.
“These narratives are long standing but are currently likely being amplified as part of a retrospective justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
While the US confirmed it was working with Ukraine, they went on to say the were fearful of any biological research material getting into the wrong hands.
“Ukraine has biological research facilities, which in fact we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of,” senior State Department official Victoria Nuland said during a recent hearing, according to AFP.
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