Russia has alleged, without evidence, that biological weapons are being produced in Ukrainian laboratories with US assistance.

The United Nations said it had no evidence Ukraine had a biological weapons program while Washington and its allies accused Russia of spreading the unproven claim as a possible prelude to launching its own biological or chemical attacks.

In fact, the member countries denounced the claim as "utter nonsense" and used the meeting to accuse Russia of purposefully targeting and killing hundreds of civilians in Ukraine. The UN's human rights office says it has verified 1,179 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the start of the war and a further 1,860 civilians have been wounded.

According to USA Today, the posts include false claims about a deal between the US and Ukraine aimed at combating biological threats. According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the country's main security agency, the labs are owned and funded by the Ukrainian government.

Additionally, following the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the United States set up its "Biological Threat Reduction Program" to lessen the potential of biological weapons being left behind in nations such as Ukraine.

The Pentagon helped numerous Ukrainian public health laboratories improve the security of dangerous pathogens and research technology under a 2005 agreement. Other governments, as well as the World Health Organization, have backed these initiatives.

The World Health Organization, a U.N. agency, told Reuters that it had “strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills.”

Russia has already made dubious claims about US-backed biolabs operating in its neighbouring countries and the report indicate the claim is tied to a years-long Russian disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the United States.

Sources: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/25/1087910880/biological-weapons-far-right-russia-ukraine

https://www.bbc.com/news/60711705

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/02/25/fact-check-claim-us-biolabs-ukraine-disinformation/6937923001/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/11/how-right-embraced-russian-disinformation-about-us-bioweapons-labs-ukraine/

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-who-says-it-advised-ukraine-destroy-pathogens-health-labs-prevent-2022-03-11/

https://www.reuters.com/world/un-says-not-aware-any-biological-weapons-program-ukraine-2022-03-11/