This was reported on Telegram by the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, according to Ukrinform.
"Another batch of absurd claims was voiced to propaganda media by so-called 'military expert' Igor Nikulin. He alleged that a network of 'closed laboratories modernized by the Pentagon' operated near Donbas, where 'tuberculosis pathogens were artificially enhanced.' This statement is a continuation of a long-running conspiracy campaign the Kremlin has pursued since 2014," the statement said.
The Center noted that Russia has never provided any evidence over the years of the existence of "secret biolaboratories" or the creation of "biological weapons" on Ukrainian territory.
"Propagandists systematically invent horror stories around ordinary Ukrainian research and sanitary-epidemiological institutions," the Center said, explaining that through this long-running disinformation campaign Russia seeks to justify its war against Ukraine.
Read also: AFU General Staff confirms strikes on Sheskharis terminal, oil depot, Russian shadow fleet tanker"The propaganda aims to create the illusion of a threat coming from Ukraine in order to portray the war as a 'preventive strike,'" the Center added.
As previously reported, the Center for Countering Disinformation also debunked a fake story about "Indian-origin assistants" helping Ukrainian draft offices patrol city streets.
