On May 28, 2023, the Georgian pro-Kremlin media outlet “Georgia and World” published an article claiming that by order of the Pentagon, lethal strains of Avian Influenza were collected in Ukraine. The article further argues that the collection of Avian Influenza strains is linked to Avian Influenza outbreaks in Russia and other countries. The publication uses the Telegram channel СВЕЖЕСТИ as the source.
During May 26-29, 2023, Kremlin propaganda media outlets (1,2,3,4) including ТВ Zvezda and Комсомолская Правда, disseminated the same information. The media published the information based on intel from the Russian Ministry of Defense and the commander of the Russian radiation, chemical and biological troops, Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov. According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the employees of the biosphere reserve in the Askania-Nova Kherson region studied the routes of migratory birds and collected strains of Avian Influenza with 40% lethality. According to Kirilov, the documents obtained during the “special military operation” confirm the transfer of “biological materials” abroad.
The accusations voiced by the MoD of Russia against Ukraine are part of Russia’s disinformation campaign about the so-called dangerous biological laboratories, which the Kremlin has been amplifying for years now. 1. In a comment to StopFake, the director of the “Askania-Nova” biosphere reserve confirmed that the biological laboratory does not function at the base of the reserve, and no dangerous strains were collected. 2. The visual materials presented by the Ministry of Defense, which, according to the agency, reflect the evidence, do not confirm the allegations.
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Dangerous strains of Avian Influenza were not collected in the territory of the biosphere reserve in the Askania-Nova Kherson region.
The biosphere reserve “Askania-Nova” is the oldest reserve in Ukraine and has been in existence since 1896. The nature reserve is located in the currently temporarily occupied part of the Kherson district. In response to the accusations spread by the Ministry of Defense of Russia, in a comment to the Ukrainian fact-checking organization, StopFake, the Director of the Foundation, Viktor Shapoval, noted that there is no laboratory of any kind on the territory of “Askania-Nova”. According to Shapoval, due to the fact that during the migration period, a large number of migratory birds gather in the territory of the nest, which can potentially be carriers of the virus, it is permissible to detect cases of Avian Influenza in the territory of the nest, although no research was conducted to collect and identify the strains of the virus.
Viktor Shapolov also spoke about the ecological research that was carried out in 2021 within the framework of mutual cooperation between the nature reserve, the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine in Kharkiv and the Linnaeus University in Switzerland. During this study, the ecology of wild birds and their pathogens was studied, which included the collection of blood samples from birds at the Askania-Nova base; however, these samples were only stored in the territory of the reserve, and no research was conducted on them in the reserve in order to detect, isolate or collect specific pathogens.
Notably, the Ministry of Defense of Russia recalled the case of the large-scale death of birds in the territory of Askania-Nova in 2021 to substantiate the accusations. The material published by the Ministry mentions that the death of birds in the territory of the reserve in 2021 “according to experts, is of an infectious nature.” However, the bird deaths were not actually related to Avian Influenza. A large number of bird deaths have been caused by the use of rodenticides in agriculture. The State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection of Ukraine made a statement after receiving the results of the relevant research. The statement mentions that as a result of the pathological analysis of the dead birds, the substance “brodifactum” was found in their bodies, which is used as a rodenticide. In addition to birds, samples of water, special feed, and grains taken from fields near the farm were also examined. The poisonous substance was found on the grain as well.
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Human-to-Human transmission of the Н5N8 strain has not yet been reported
Igor Kirillov’s statement puts a special emphasis on the collection of the H5N8 Avian Influenza strains in Ukraine, which, according to him, is characterized by exceptional lethality.
In general, Avian Influenza mainly spreads among birds, although humans can also be infected. Human infection occurs through direct contact with sick birds and contaminated environments. The World Health Organization systematically monitors the spread of different strains of Avian Influenza and publishes weekly updates.
Noteworthy that the first case of transmission of the H5N8 version of avian influenza from a bird to a person was confirmed in Russia itself in 2021. 7 cases of infection were detected on a poultry farm in Astrakhan region. In general, this strain of Avian Influenza was spreading around the world even before that. For example, in 2020, H5N8 was detected in both wild and domestic birds in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Great Britain and Russia.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, H5N8 has a high lethality – 75%. However, no cases of direct human-to-human transmission of this strain have yet been reported.
Different strains of avian virus have different lethality. Regarding human-to-human transmission of avian viruses, a similar case was identified in Hong Kong in 1997, when serological studies showed probable evidence of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus. Also, in 2003, a case of human-to-human transmission of avian influenza A(H7N7) was reported in the Netherlands. The website of the World Health Organization notes that transmission of the virus to humans is rare.
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The visual materials presented by the Ministry of Defense, which, according to the agency, reflect the evidence, do not confirm the allegations
In addition, the infographics presented by the Ministry of Defense titled “Highly Pathological Avian Influenza Epizootic Situation Revealed” actually show essentially the spread of H5N1.
The Avian Influenza outbreak in Russia in 2023, which the Ministry of Defense actually links to Ukraine, is also linked not to H5N8 but to H5N1. This information was distributed by the Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision of Russia itself.
It should also be noted that in the text of the published materials, the Ministry of Defense connects the collection of pathogens of the “dangerous strain” of Avian Influenza with the UP-8 project, and on the infographics, a document depicting the UP-4 project has been attached.
The Russian Ministry of Defense linked the UP-8 project to dangerous biological activity in December 2022, when the head of chemical and biological defence forces, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, said that during the war, Russia had obtained more than 20,000 documents proving that the US was involved in dangerous activities in Ukraine. Dangerous biological weapons were being developed. In fact, the project is not related to biological weapons or bird flu. UP-8 provided US support to the Government of Ukraine in the monitoring of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, tick-borne infections, and rodent-borne hantavirus and was not related to any outbreak of the virus. According to the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the UP-8 project was carried out in compliance with all relevant Ukrainian and US health and safety regulations and did not pose a threat to human life at any stage.
For more information on the “20 000 Documents,” see the article prepared by “Myth Detector:”
The Russian Federation linked the UP-4 project with the plans for the artificial spread of diseases in September 2022 in the framework of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxic Weapons by the US in Ukraine. At that time, the US and Ukraine presented detailed information about the project. UP-4 was intended to assess the risks of migration of particularly dangerous pathogens over the territory of Ukraine by migratory birds and was part of routine scientific activities. The head of the US Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), Rebecca Daphne, also explained the name of the project, U – Ukrainian initials, P – project, and these codes are used to enter research catalogues and do not represent any kind of secret. The US and Ukrainian delegations explained that since migratory birds are a source of various diseases, such research is necessary for disease control and has nothing to do with any kind of biological weapon or dangerous scientific activity.
In general, the spread of accusations and disinformation in the context of biosecurity by the Ministry of Defense of Russia in relation to Ukraine is characterized by the tendency to publish evidence, which, despite the claims, does not confirm anything and actually reflects routine, ordinary research related to scientific work, and does not include any secret information. This was also highlighted at the conference held in Geneva in 2022, where delegations from various countries studied the documents presented by Russia, which were supposed to confirm the process of working on biological weapons and dangerous scientific activities in Ukraine and failed to reveal such evidence. For more information, see the “Myth Detector” material:
Disinformation related to biolaboratories and documents published by the Ministry of Defense of Russia was debunked by “Myth Detector” several times in the past. For details, see:
- Are there Pentagon-Controlled Biological Laboratories in Ukraine?
- Yet Another Disinformation of Kremlin about the Conduct of Dangerous Experiments on Servicemen in Ukrainian Labs
- 4 Disinformation of the Kremlin around Biological Laboratories in Ukraine
- Zakharova’s Disinformation about Germany’s Biosafety Program – What Research is Being Conducted in Ukraine?
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