FACT CHECK | Portal „Eesti Eest!“ spreads false information about the Mariupol „bio labs“ and justifies Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (2)
The „Eesti Eest!“ portal alleges that the US was operating illegally in „former Ukrainian territories“ and that „Big Pharma“, with the support of the Ukrainian authorities, had been carrying out drug trial on „ethnic Russian citizens“ in a psychiatric hospital in Donbass. According to the portal, Russia’s decision to „liberate“ Ukraine was the only way to prevent such acts from continuing.
“According to documents recently published in the Russian media, agents linked to Western Big Pharma companies carried out irregular medical tests on patients at a psychiatric hospital in Mariupol (Donetsk People’s Republic). Restoration works are currently under way at Mariupol hospital “No 7″. In the course of the renovation work, local workers found documents in the basement of the psychiatric facilities proving that foreign companies were unofficially testing rheumatological drugs on local patients,” writes the portal “Eesti Eest!”.
The portal then goes on to explain at length and in detail the alleged illegal experiments and describes the “documents” proving it.
“It is shocking to learn that the Ukrainian government colluded in this practice and allowed its citizens to fall victim to such abuse by foreign agents. […] Indeed, territorial liberation by Russian military force was the only way to prevent these brutal acts from continuing,” the article concludes.
The article on “Eesti Eest!” has been adapted from the InfoBRICS website and written by Lucas Leiroz. According to the portal, he is a journalist, a researcher at the centre for geostrategic studies and a geopolitical consultant.
In fact, Leiroz is a columnist for InfoBRICS and co-author of Russia’s state propaganda outlets, including Russia Today and Sputnik.
InfoBRICS is part of the InfoRos agency, which is subject to sanctions in Europe and numerous other countries. InfoRos is closely linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU) and has created more than 270 similar (backup) websites. Through these sites, InfoRos spreads Russian propaganda and supports Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
As early as February 27, 2024, three days after the start of full-scale war, Russian officials and the media claimed that the US had “filled Ukraine with bio-laboratories, which were very likely used to study methods of destroying the Russian people at the genetic level”.
Similar allegations and conspiracy theories about Ukraine have been repeatedly spread by Russia. Faktikontroll wrote nearly two years ago already that Ukraine’s bio-labs are for research on living organisms, not for the production of bioweapons.
Allegations of illegal human experiments in Mariupol were also refuted by the official Telegram channel of the Mariupol City Council (Ukraine): ‘Propaganda channels have been broadcasting stories about “laboratory experiments” in the basement of Mariupol Hospital No 7.’. As “evidence”, propagandists are demonstrating, among other things, anti-COVID19 drugs, fluorography images and images of unrelated AstraZeneca and Pfizer documents”.
There are dozens of public health laboratories in Ukraine researching and working to mitigate dangerous diseases. Some of these laboratories receive financial and other support from the U:S, the European Union and the World Health Organisation (WHO), as do many other countries.
The U.S has been working with the Ukrainian Health Ministry since 2005 to help develop local public health laboratories. US funding of Ukrainian laboratories is nothing secret, new or unusual.
In January 2022, the U.S announced that its programme was doing the opposite and was in fact aimed at reducing the risk of biological weapons proliferation.
The portal “Eesti Eest!” is run by Mike Calamus, a former EKRE politician who is also campaigning against e-elections.
Verdict: false. There is no evidence that any illegal biomedical activity has taken place in Mariupol or in Ukraine at large. “Eesti eest!” justifies Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in its article and spreads the Kremlin’s strategic narratives.