China Pushes Conspiracy Theory About U.S. Labs in Ukraine
- Foreign Ministry claims the U.S. is storing viruses in biolabs
- Beijing refuses to call Russia’s attack on Ukraine ‘invasion’
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China accused the U.S. military of operating “dangerous” biolabs in Ukraine, echoing a Russian conspiracy theory that Western officials warned could be part of an effort to justify President Vladimir Putin’s invasion after the fact.
“U.S. biolabs in Ukraine have indeed attracted much attention recently,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday in response to a question from a local reporter. He added that “all dangerous pathogens in Ukraine must be stored in these labs and all research activities are led by the U.S. side,” without providing evidence to back up the claim.