The Pentagon’s interest lies primarily in investigating infections that could potentially serve as weapons, as asserted by Moscow. According to Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, the US military is actively examining pathogens that could be employed as biological weapons.
This initiative, the US government says, comes as a precautionary measure in anticipation of a potential new pandemic.
Kirillov noted that the list of diseases capturing the attention of American experts includes anthrax, tularemia, and several types of coronaviruses. Some of these pathogens are categorized as “high-priority” threats by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are recognized as potential agents for bioterrorism.
The general also suggested a pattern in which pathogens of interest to the Pentagon, such as Covid-19, avian influenza, and African swine fever, eventually transform into global pandemics, with American pharmaceutical companies reaping benefits. However, he did not provide further details on this claim.
Kirillov disclosed that the US was extensively studying coronaviruses just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent times, the White House introduced the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), responsible for overseeing actions related to readiness for both known and unknown biological threats.
The Russian military suspects that this move could be part of Washington’s strategy to exert influence over worldwide biological and epidemic situations. Kirillov contended that the US has been preparing for new pandemics by investigating virus mutations, as observed in 2019.
The possibility that the United States might employ ostensibly defensive technologies for offensive purposes and to exercise global control through the manipulation of biological crises is not ruled out by Moscow.
Russia has previously raised concerns about the involvement of the US military in global biological activities, including the alleged existence of covert US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine. Despite Russia’s efforts, a motion for an international investigation was rejected by the UN Security Council.
Additionally, Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently claimed that the US had outsourced some of its biological weapons research to Ukrainian authorities following the 2014 Maidan coup, operating under the guise of “life sciences” studies.
