MOSCOW - Russia has filed a complaint with the UN Security Council demanding an international investigation into the United States’ “military-biological activities” in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Shortly after, Ukrainian and American representatives to the UN both rejected accusations implicating Washington in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine.

“The Russian Federation was left with no choice but to file a complaint with the Chairman of the UN Security Council to launch an international investigation” into “the military-biological activities of the United States in Ukraine,” according to the Russian foreign ministry statement.

The ministry said that during “the special military operation (in Ukraine) evidence and material that shed light on the true nature of the US military-biological activities on Ukrainian territory were obtained.”

Russia filed the complaint with a draft resolution to the Security Council, and compiled a 310-page document seen by AFP.

US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield refuted the claims at the Security Council on Thursday.

‘Pure fabrications’

“We all know these claims are pure fabrications brought forth without a shred of evidence,” she said.

“Still, I must take this opportunity to set the record straight. Ukraine does not have a biological weapons programme,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield added.

“The United States does not have a biological weapons programme.”

Ukrainian deputy ambassador to the UN Khrystyna Hayovyshyn said her country “has never ever developed, produced or stored – alone or together with someone else – biological or chemical weapons.”

“Our country does not possess the corresponding infrastructure for biological weapons development and production,” she added. “This provocative issue has been already raised by Russia many times.”

Shortly after the start of the Ukraine offensive, Russia accused the US of funding research into the development of biological weapons.

The UN’s Deputy High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr Adedeji Ebo, reiterated that the UN had no knowledge of such programmes on Thursday.

“As high representative Izumi Nakamitsu informed the council in March, and May of this year the United Nations is not aware of any such biological weapons programs. This remains the case today,” Mr Ebo told the Security Council.

Mr Ebo also noted the UN had no mandate or technical capacity to investigate the claims.

In March, US President Joe Biden said the US was not holding chemical and biological weapons in Europe.

Russia has previously also accused the US of secretly carrying out biological experiments in a laboratory in Georgia, another former Soviet republic, which like Ukraine aims to join Nato and the European Union. AFP