WHO Recommended Ukraine's Health Ministry To Destroy High-Threat Pathogens To Prevent Disease Spread: Reuters

The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in its public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills," the agency told Reuters.

Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases, including COVID-19. Its labs have backing from the U.S., the European Union, and the WHO.

The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation, nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine's laboratories. The agency declined to answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova repeated a longstanding claim that the U.S. operates a biowarfare lab in Ukraine, an accusation that Washington and Kyiv have repeatedly denied.

Zakharova said that documents unearthed by Russian forces in Ukraine showed "an emergency attempt to erase evidence of military biological programs" by destroying lab samples.

The WHO statement did not refer to biowarfare. The agency said it encourages all parties to cooperate in "the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens." It offered to help wherever possible with technical guidance and coordination.