Russia claims USAID involved in pharmaceutical testing in Ukraine

The Russian Ministry of Defence has claimed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) may have been involved in testing pharmaceutical drugs in Ukraine.

At a briefing, Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, cited alleged evidence of work carried out by the US military in Ukrainian laboratories, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

He said US officials, including National Security Council coordinator John Kirby, Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, and current US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had previously confirmed such activities.

Rtishchev further referred to an interview given in August 2025 by Cornell University organic chemistry professor Dave Collum to American journalist Tucker Carlson, in which Collum allegedly confirmed drug testing on Ukrainian citizens across 38 laboratories.

According to Rtishchev, civilian agencies and non-governmental organisations, rather than military bodies, often commissioned such experiments to maintain secrecy.

He specifically mentioned USAID, which was reportedly dissolved following a decision by President Donald Trump.

By Aghakazim Guliyev