Russia alleges that the US is operating Biolabs in neighbouring Ukraine in which biological weapons are being manufactured on a large scale. Russia claims that there are 26 US Biolabs in Ukraine.
However, the US has denied all allegations regarding the manufacture of biological weapons. Now Russia has come up with a new theory and is saying that the US is training birds in Ukraine to spread deadly diseases among Russian citizens. The Russian Defense Ministry has made these allegations.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov made these claims while talking to Russian media on Thursday. Konashenkov said the US military planned to infect the birds with the H5N1 flu strain "with a 50 per cent mortality rate" and Newcastle disease, Newsweek reported. Newcastle disease is a highly contagious and fatal bird disease that affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems.
What is 'Project Pigeon'
According to the report, Russian media also circulated maps, documents and photos of birds wearing US coats of arms. Konashenkov said Russian military officials also caught some infected birds from Ukraine's Kherson Reserve.
According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, America tried to train pigeons during World War II to guide bombs to precise targets. It was named 'Project Pigeon'. But these birds were never used on the battlefield and the project was cancelled in 1953.
USA is saving Biolab from Russian occupation
Earlier, US Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Victoria Nuland revealed that Washington is working with Ukraine to prevent biological research centres from falling into Russian hands.
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His revelations caused a furore and Russia accused the US of manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said the USA was concerned by the confirmation of facts about the violation of biological weapons regulations in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry has called on the US to disclose information about the Pentagon's alleged biological laboratories in Ukraine as soon as possible. American President Joe Biden's administration has warned that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
The US has claimed that a Soviet-era research lab exists in Siberia, which Putin has turned into his chemical weapons arsenal.
It is one of the 59 maximum security Biolabs in the world. These labs also include China's Wuhan Institute of Virology. Putin has also been accused of using chemical weapons against his political rival Alexei Navalny and former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal.