On Sunday, the Former Congresswoman from Hawai Tulsi Gabbard claimed the existence of more than 25 US-sponsored Biolabs in functioning in Ukraine. Soon after her video went viral, US senator from the state of Utah, Mitt Romney lashed out at Tulsi alleging that she was parroting Russian propaganda. “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives,” he wrote on Twitter.
Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 13, 2022
Tulsi in her video stated that according to the data by the US government, Biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens. “Ukraine is an active war zone with the widespread bombing, artillery and shelling and these facilities, even in the best of circumstances, could easily be compromised and release these deadly pathogens,” she added.
There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they’re secured & pathogens destroyed pic.twitter.com/dhDTH5smIG
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 13, 2022
Prior to Tulsi’s claim, Russia and China had also alleged the presence of US biological laboratories in Ukraine.
The US bio-military activities are not transparent, safe or justified. In Ukraine alone, the US has set up 16 bio-labs. Why does the US need so many labs all over the world? What activities are carried out in those labs, including the one in Fort Detrick? pic.twitter.com/hZ1r3ecPoW
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) April 8, 2021
Tulsi hits back with facts
On Monday, Tulsi Gabbard has hit back at the allegations of ‘parroting Russian propaganda.’ While stating that the existing US-funded Biolabs must be secured in order to prevent new pandemics, Gabbard asserted that the spread of pathogens from these labs will cause the loss of life if they are not protected. “The spread of pathogens is what will cause the loss of life, not the prevention of such spread,” she wrote on Twitter.
… you claim that securing these labs (or even calling for securing these labs) is treasonous and will lead to a loss of life, when the exact opposite is obviously true. The spread of pathogens is what will cause the loss of life, not the prevention of such spread.
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 14, 2022
Tulsi Gabbard asked Romney if he could provide evidence of what is being said is untrue while challenging him to apologize and resign from the Senate. While claiming that the need to take immediate action for securing such Biolabs is beyond dispute, she listed down instances when the US state department themselves claimed the existence of such labs during correspondence and to the media. She referred to the US government’s Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland’s statement during a hearing on Ukraine directly acknowledging the presence of such labs in Ukraine.
…to gain control of. We are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.”
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 14, 2022
On March 8, when asked by Republican Marco Rubio about whether Ukraine has bioweapons, Nuland responded saying, “Ukraine has biological research facilities, which in fact we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of. We are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.”
In another instance, the fact sheet released by The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cooperative Threat Reduction Program which talked about the activities under the Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) in Ukraine contains statements directly or indirectly confirming the existence of Biolabs in Ukraine. The fact sheet documents that The United States, through BTRP has invested approximately $200 million in Ukraine since 2005 while supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and diagnostic sites.
#2. Pentagon Fact sheet (March 11, 2022) has numerous statements directly & indirectly confirming the existence of such biolabs. https://t.co/63DIGQSm9c
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 14, 2022
Furthermore, the factsheet claims that the US began its biological work in Ukraine to tame the risk of unsecured biological weapons left by the USSR after its disintegration in its successor states. It states that Russia illegally took possession of two Ukrainian-owned laboratories that America’s BTRP upgraded in 2014 after its invasion.
Tulsi Gabbard then quoted veteran journalist David C. Martin, when on a CBS news show ‘Face the Nation’ he claimed that a Pentagon official told him the US is concerned about the Russia taking over Biolabs in Ukraine for weaponizing the study of the toxic pathogens.
.@CBSDavidMartin says that a Pentagon official he talked to this morning said there is no movement of chemical weapons into Ukraine, but the concern is that Russia may move to seize a biomedical research facility, weaponize a pathogen, then blame it on Ukraine & the U.S. pic.twitter.com/lKAxxCGgmv
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 13, 2022
“The concern is that the Russians will seize one of these biomedical research facilities that Ukraine has where they do research on deadly pathogens like botulism and anthrax, seize one of those facilities, weaponize the pathogen, and then blame it on Ukraine and the US because the US has been providing support for some of the research being done in those facilities,” Martin elaborated in the interview.
It must also be noted that in 2020, the US embassy in Ukraine itself acknowledged that there are US-funded labs in Ukraine working with pathogens for vaccines and other peaceful purposes after Russia accused the USA of producing biological weapons in Ukraine. “Here in Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities, while allowing for peaceful research and vaccine development,” the statement reads.
It can be seen from the above shreds of evidence presented by Tulsi Gabbard that the repeated denying of US Biolabs in Ukraine by the US state departments and by the media across the table has fallen flat. The former Congresswoman has stood strong while taking a stance that the US should openly acknowledge its biological presence in Ukraine and thus strive to protect it from falling from Russian hands. Her expose with an outlay of evidence will further mount the pressure on the US to clarify its stance.
