Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the occupiers have been actively spreading a lot of misinformation about Ukraine. Specialists from Deloitte Consulting, commissioned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Government’s Good Governance Fund program, prepared a large material in which they refuted all popular fakes. Some interesting facts can be found below.

Fake №1: Ukrainian authorities specifically caused an outbreak of tuberculosis in the occupied Luhansk region

Social media and mass media spread information that in 2020, by distributing counterfeit banknotes infected with the TB pathogen, Ukraine tried to infect people with tuberculosis in the Slavyanoserbsky district of Luhansk region (temporarily occupied part of Luhansk region).

Refutation:

The deterioration of the health of the inhabitants of Luhansk region, which was mentioned by the propagandists of the Luhansk People’s Republic, could not have happened due to the dropped banknotes or leaflets. First, the incubation period of tuberculosis is at least 3-9 weeks. In addition, not everyone infected with tuberculosis has an open form with pronounced symptoms. Second, tuberculosis is transmitted by air during prolonged stay indoors with an infected person. The disease is not transmitted through contact with objects used by the patient.

Fake №2: there are laboratories in Ukraine where the USA conducts military-biological experiments, including on humans

Russian media have spread information that Pfizer and Modern are involved in conducting military biological research in Ukraine. The main argument for this thesis was that 17 years ago Ukraine signed an agreement with the United States on the implementation of military-biological programs in the country. Subsequently, they adopted a US strategy to combat biological threats and legalized “dual-use research."

In addition, Igor Kirilov, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, said that the Pentagon was conducting biological experiments on patients at a mental hospital near Kharkiv.

Refutation:

None of these agreements stipulates that the United States conducts “military-biological experiments" in Ukraine. In 2005, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health did conclude an agreement with the US Department of Defense to cooperate in preventing the spread of technologies, pathogens and knowledge that could be used in the development of biological weapons. The essence of the agreement is to counteract the threat of outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases. The US Department of Defense can help the Ministry of Health of Ukraine conduct research, identify dangerous biological agents, control the use of dangerous pathogens, and so on. This agreement is publicly available, and it does not mention “military-biological programs" or the involvement of any facilities of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. There is also no evidence that this program was ever used for military purposes.

In addition, neither Pfizer nor Modern are involved in “military-biological experiments." These companies conduct routine clinical trials. It is noted that Ukraine and Russia are important countries for testing pharmaceutical companies, as patients here are in dire need of drugs to treat cancer, neurological and gastrointestinal diseases. In addition, it is cheaper to do business here, compared to the United States and Western Europe.

Fake №3: Collection of cholera pathogens in Mariupol is proof of preparation of Ukrainian provocation with the use of weapons of mass destruction

Russian sources have spread information that there were two laboratories in Mariupol before the occupation, which collected cholera pathogens. The collected pathogens were then sent to the Public Health Center in Kyiv, which then allegedly forwarded the materials to the United States. Russia claims that these facts prove the preparation of a Ukrainian provocation with the use of weapons of mass destruction. That is why on February 25, 2022, the staff of the Mariupol laboratory allegedly destroyed a collection of pathogens, including the causative agents of cholera, anthrax and tularemia.

Refutation:

In all regions of Ukraine there are special institutions that monitor the circulation of pathogens of infectious diseases, analysis and forecasting the spread of these diseases. Such a center was in Mariupol (“Donetsk Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine"). This is a perfectly normal practice in all developed countries. But immediately after the start of a full-scale war, the institution was closed down (again, due to hostilities).

In addition, there is no evidence that Ukraine sent infectious agents to the United States. This assumption is not logical, as the United States has its own system for monitoring and preventing infectious diseases, including cholera.