Pentagon accuses Russia of developing biological weapons

The Pentagon has prepared a report (.pdf) on biodefence posture. In the report, the Pentagon indicates that Russia and North Korea maintain active offensive biological weapons programmes.

The report states that China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran likely continue to create lethal toxins and pathogens, and that "advances in both synthetic biology and peptide synthesis may allow states to develop a wide range of new toxins."

"Public health misinformation was evident throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and continued after Russia began fighting in Ukraine in 2022," the report states.

The Pentagon also points out that Russia has not fully acknowledged the continuation of Soviet bioweapons programmes, has not provided evidence of their curtailment, and continues to conceal dual-use biological research.

The review also states that this is a critical moment for the US military in biological defence and that it must act quickly and decisively to deal with biological weapons development and other catastrophic events, including pandemics. The document also highlights the growing threat of Iran and militant extremist organisations.