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Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?

2024-10-25 18:13:26Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?
Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?

Revelations about Russia's actions in an area once used as a factory for the production of biological warfare weapons are causing concern in the West.

Specifically, according to a report by the Washington Post, Sergiev Posad-6 is an area 60 km northeast of Moscow, which during the Cold War was a major research center for biological warfare weapons with a history of experimentation with viruses that cause smallpox, Ebola and hemorrhagic fever.

This area had fallen into disuse in recent decades, which seems to have changed these times. Satellite images of the past two years, since the beginning of the occupation of Ukraine, record extensive reconstruction and additions, with at least ten new buildings. Some of them have features compliant with biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) facilities, which are equipped to study and manage highly dangerous pathogens.

Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?

As seen in images shared by the Washington Post, which were obtained via Google Earth, MAXAR and Planet Labs, the work includes improvements to air handling systems, which are necessary to keep the labs under negative pressure and ensure that any pathogen will not "escape" into the environment.

Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?

 

Experts such as Andrew C. Weber, a former Pentagon official, note that BSL-4 labs require precise pressure control, powerful filters and backup ventilation equipment, with the air renewed 12 to 15 times an hour.

One of the new buildings includes large ventilated rooms and high-security motion detectors, indicative of high-content laboratories. The area has perimeter security posts and a clear forest perimeter, which prevents uncontrolled access and increases the overall security of the area.

Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?Concerned West, Is Putin Reopening Abandoned Biological Warfare Labs?

According to experts such as William Goodhind, the region's security facilities create a "layer of protection," with multiple layers of security that make access difficult for unauthorized people.

According to Russian officials, the new labs will be used for research on microbes such as the Ebola virus, with the goal of strengthening the country's defenses against future biological threats and pandemics.

Russia's Defense Ministry has not responded to questions about specific activities, while the US and other Western countries are closely monitoring developments, expressing concern that biological weapons may be planned.

The history of Sergiev Posad-6 raises concerns about current activity, as the center has been linked in the past to the Soviet biological weapons program. Among the Soviet-era projects was the development of methods to grow the smallpox virus in cell cultures, which scientist Milton Leitenberg reported in his 2012 book. US State Department analysts say Russia's biological weapons program is not never dissolved, but was "absorbed and evolved" by the Russian Federation.

The new upgrades raise concerns that Russia may be looking to revamp its program, especially amid the war in Ukraine and tensions with the West. The Russian military leadership, with statements such as those of Sergei Borisevich (head of the 48th Central Research Institute of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense), referred to the importance of new facilities in protecting the country from biological threats.

Borisevich, in fact, emphasized that the facility is the "backbone of Russia's biological defense system," stressing that its role is to protect troops and the general population from threats.

At the same time, Russian media reports and post-Cold War studies suggest that the center continued to conduct infectious disease research even after the end of the Cold War. In 2020, Sergiev Posad-6 scientists helped develop the Sputnik-V vaccine against COVID-19.

Some experts argue that the upgrades could be an indirect message from the Russian leadership to the West, similar to the threat of using nuclear weapons.

Since Russia does not publicly acknowledge the existence of biological weapons, these military installations can serve as a reminder of the country's military might. Putin has made threats to use nuclear weapons but is silent on biological weapons, hinting that such capabilities may exist.

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