[ad_1]
NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned final month that Russia would manufacture a pretext for invading Ukraine. He additionally warned that Moscow would fabricate allegations about chemical or organic weapons to justify violent assaults in opposition to the Ukrainian individuals.
“The world is watching Russia do precisely what we warned it will,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, instructed fellow members of the Safety Council on Friday.
The emergency assembly was referred to as by the Russian delegation after allegations from Moscow that its troops had uncovered proof of US-funded biological-weapon applications in Ukraine, together with paperwork it mentioned confirmed the event of “organic weapons parts.”
The Russian protection ministry claimed that the US “deliberate to arrange work on pathogens of birds, bats and reptiles in Ukraine in 2022.”
Throughout Friday’s assembly, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia repeated accusations by the ministry that Washington is supporting military-related organic analysis in Ukraine and Georgia with the aim of making “bio-agents able to selectively focusing on totally different ethnic populations.”
Thomas-Greenfield mentioned the Russian delegation referred to as the Safety Council assembly with the only real intention of legitimizing disinformation and deceiving the world in an try to justify “President (Vladimir) Putin’s battle of selection in opposition to the Ukrainian individuals.”
She additionally accused China of spreading disinformation in help of Russia’s claims.
“I’ll say this as soon as: Ukraine doesn’t have a biological-weapons program,” Thomas-Greenfield mentioned. “There are not any Ukrainian biological-weapons laboratories supported by the USA — not close to Russia’s border or wherever.”
She added that Ukraine owns and operates its personal public-health laboratories to detect and diagnose ailments, together with COVID-19.
“The US has assisted Ukraine to do that safely and securely,” Thomas-Greenfield mentioned. “That is work that has been finished proudly, clearly and out within the open. This work has every little thing to do with defending the well being of individuals. It has completely nothing — completely nothing — to do with organic weapons.”
Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN’s disarmament chief, instructed members of the council that no proof has been discovered to help the Russian claims of biological-weapons growth in Ukraine.
Thomas-Greenfield additionally accused Russia of lengthy sustaining its personal biological-weapons program, in violation of worldwide regulation, and having a well-documented historical past of utilizing such weapons.
She highlighted as proof of this the poisoning of opposition chief Alexei Navalny by Russian operatives, and Moscow’s continued help of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria and its efforts to “defend it from accountability when the UN and the (Group for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) have confirmed that Assad has repeatedly used chemical weapons over the previous a number of years.”
The US envoy mentioned her nation is deeply involved that Russia’s name for the Safety Council assembly is a “potential false flag effort in motion.”
A false flag operation is an motion carried out with the intention of disguising the true wrongdoer and as an alternative blame one other.
“Russia has a observe document of falsely accusing different nations of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating,” Thomas-Greenfield mentioned. “And (we) have critical issues that Russia could also be planning to make use of chemical or organic brokers in opposition to the Ukrainian individuals.
“The intent behind these lies appears clear and it’s deeply troubling. We imagine Russia might use chemical or organic brokers for assassinations, as a part of a staged or false-flag incident, or to help tactical army operations.
“From the start, our technique to counter Russia’s ways has been to share what we all know with the world, transparently — and, candidly, we now have been proper extra typically than we’d like.”
She vowed to not enable Russia to “get away with mendacity to the world or staining the integrity of the Safety Council by utilizing this discussion board as a venue for legitimizing Putin’s violence.”
Russia has attacked houses, colleges, orphanages and hospitals, Thomas-Greenfield mentioned.
“Their forces are laying Ukrainian cities underneath siege,” she added. “Tons of of hundreds of civilians now don’t have entry to electrical energy for warmth, or ingesting water to remain alive. Russia is the aggressor right here.”
She pressured that regardless of Moscow’s efforts to unfold disinformation, it can’t “paint over” newspaper tales or “cowl up” the work of the Ukrainian and worldwide journalists on the bottom within the nation who’re reporting the fact of civilian struggling and deaths.
In the meantime, the Russian media alleged {that a} pregnant girl pictured being carried on a stretcher whereas a hospital in Mariupol was evacuated after a Russian assault was an actress.
“Even Russia’s personal residents are tiring of such lies,” mentioned Thomas-Greenfield. “Russian athletes are writing ‘no battle’ on their sneakers and on TV cameras. Russian residents are marching within the streets and protesting Putin’s battle of selection. And even Russian state-TV pundits — Putin’s personal propaganda arm — have referred to as for Putin to cease the army motion.”
Thomas-Greenfield once more referred to as on the Russian president to finish this “unprovoked, unconscionable battle in opposition to the Ukrainian individuals.”
Russia to recruit 16,000 fighters from Center East for Ukraine warUN company warns Ukraine battle might set off 20 % meals worth rise: Reuters
[ad_2]
Source link