From the KGB’s infamous ‘Operation Infektion’ in the 1980s to endless conspiracy theories about the Lugar lab in Tbilisi, Georgia and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kremlin’s trolls have exploited topics of biological research and CBRN threats for decades to fan fears and sow distrust between citizens and their governments. And almost every time, false claims and outright conspiracies have fallen on fertile soil.
The topic of CRBN threats is a highly complex yet emotion-provoking topic. Issues like biological research or understanding how chemical substances or radiation work require a high level of expertise. However, these topics are widely used in popular culture and are well established in the public’s imagination. This makes them ideal targets for disinformation and information manipulation purposes.
A pretext for invasion
The Kremlin has made unfounded accusations that Ukraine might use CBRN weapons in Donbas as a pretext to attack Ukraine. A few weeks before the full-scale invasion, the Russian disinformation ecosystem was spreading myths that the Ukrainian army, US private contractors, and ‘US-controlled jihadists’ were preparing a chemical weapons attack in east Ukraine to ‘provoke’ Russia. On the heels of chemical weapons myths, the Kremlin spun conspiracy theories of ‘clandestine US military biolabs’ manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Telegram channels affiliated with the Russian secret services spread rumours about homemade Ukrainian radioactive bombs.
Such disinformation narratives persist, despite being repeatedly debunked, including by UN officials. The Kremlin continues to instrumentalise people’s inherent aversion to indiscriminate weapons in order to discredit international military support to Ukraine and to portray those who supply it as escalating the war.
Exploiting and undermining international organisations
The Kremlin deploys CBRN disinformation not only via its mouthpieces, but also in international forums. For example, Russian diplomats have repeated baseless allegations of ‘secret military biolabs in Ukraine’ at international meetings under the auspices of the Biological weapons convention to legitimise and amplify the Kremlin’s disinformation claims. This was the Kremlin’s way to kill two birds with one stone: try to discredit Ukraine while blurring the line between biological weapons and legitimate biological research.
The Kremlin has also targeted the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) – accusing it of fabrications, anti-Russian bias, and serving Western interests – in an attempt to discredit the organisation’s investigations into potential Russian war crimes. This is consistent with Russia’s broader strategy to erode trust in international institutions and deflect scrutiny from its own actions. However, this strategy also has consequences: in 2023, for the first time, Russia was ousted from the OPCW’s executive council.
The real threat
Behind the Kremlin’s false accusations about Ukraine and CBRN weapons lies the real threat: Russia’s own record of using chemical weapons to poison its critics and, by many accounts, to carry out attacks on the battlefield. By spreading CBRN-related disinformation, Russia attempts to vilify Ukraine and to undermine international cooperation on disarmament, non-proliferation, and public health research as well as obfuscate its own war crimes.
Stay vigilant and #DontBeDeceived!
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