Russian Defense: US exploits Africa for bioweapon tests
The Russian Defense Ministry has accused the United States of conducting illicit biological experiments under the pretext of public health initiatives, alleging that the Pentagon is exploiting Africa as a testing ground.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces, claimed that the US is relocating “unfinished” biological weapons projects from Ukraine to various African countries.
According to Kirillov, the project, allegedly led by America’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the State Department, involves illegal experiments in Nigeria and other African nations.
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Washington claims, according to Kirillov, that biological projects in Nigeria are aimed at combating HIV/AIDS.
He cited recent figures showing that 60% of Nigerians suffering from the disease have received antivirus therapy using products from “Pentagon-affiliated” biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, which Kirillov said had previously tested its drugs on Ukrainians.
“However, the effectiveness of this program raises serious concerns. Despite annual funding increases totaling about $100 million, the HIV incidence rate has remained virtually unchanged and corresponds with 2009 figures. The mortality among HIV-infected people also shows unfavorable progression,” the Russian official stated.
This suggests that “American pharmaceuticals, even with the documented increase in consumption in Nigeria, do not have a tangible therapeutic impact, and Nigerian citizens are being exploited as a ‘free clinical resource,’” Kirillov added.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that a three-year contract signed between DTRA and American non-profit RTI International in August 2022 to monitor infectious disease threats in Africa’s largest economy is part of the Pentagon’s broader “biological espionage” schemes.
This includes “analyzing the epidemic situation along the borders of geopolitical adversaries and in the expected regions of military contingent deployment,” according to the ministry.
Moscow also claims to have documents confirming that the Pentagon was spying on the biological situation in “Iraq and Afghanistan bordering China, Türkiye, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.”
Earlier last month, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed the US was transferring dual-purpose biological research activities to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa.
The move came after Moscow repeatedly exposed the Pentagon’s illegal military-biological operations in Europe, including Ukraine, Kirillov said.
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