Russia's secretive bio‑lab expansion sparks global concern

Journalists from the Washington Post analyzed satellite images from Google Earth and commercial imaging firms, which reveal extensive construction work at Sergiyev Posad-6. Photographs from April and May 2023 show machines working on expanding existing laboratories and constructing an underground tunnel connecting the laboratories to a power plant. The tunnel is spacious enough to allow the safe and controlled movement of vehicles and personnel.

Infrastructure analysis suggests that the new buildings may be used for working with dangerous pathogens. This is indicated by the layout of the facilities, extensive underground infrastructure, enhanced security measures, and numerous ventilation systems typical of high-security laboratories. There is also a small power plant on site, which further emphasizes the facility's specialized nature.

Although the available data does not allow for a definitive determination of whether Russia plans to conduct offensive research on biological weapons, experts express their concerns. Andrew Weber, a retired Pentagon specialist on Russian biological weapons facilities, emphasizes that the expansion of such a secretive laboratory with such a history is troubling.

In an interview with the newspaper "Krasnaya Zvezda" in April 2023, the military head of the laboratory, Sergey Borisovich, called Sergiyev Posad-6 "the foundation of the country's biological defence system." According to him, the facility's purpose is to develop medical measures to protect the military and the population from biological weapons that could be used by enemies of Russia, including foreign states and terrorist organizations.

The Polish Press Agency reminds that the work on the expansion of the laboratory began a few months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This occurred during an intense disinformation campaign by the Kremlin, accusing the United States of helping Kyiv to create a secret biological weapons program. In June 2022, Russia filed a formal complaint with the UN, claiming without evidence that Ukraine was preparing to use biological weapons.

The Soviet Union used similar strategies in the 1970s and 80s, justifying its biological weapons program with alleged Western actions. This program was exposed by Soviet defectors, including leading scientists who claimed that the work was driven by the belief that Western countries were secretly producing the same weapons. Officially, the Kremlin denies the existence of such weapons in Russia.

"The Russians have never been transparent about Ministry of Defence facilities," Mallory Stewart, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control at the U.S. Department of State, told journalists from the "Washington Post." "This raises questions about what they are hiding," she added.