Former U.S. congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is firing back after facing backlash for her comments about bio labs in Ukraine. U.S. Senator Mitt Romney criticized Gabbard for allegedly saying that the U.S. was involved in biochemical weapon developments in Ukraine.
Gabbard appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, where she discussed the potential repercussions of “U.S.-funded” bio labs in Ukraine being accessed by the Russians.
On March 13, she tweeted, “There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to U.S./world. We must take action now to prevent disaster.”
Romney tweeted the same day, claiming, “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.”
The senator’s mention of Russian propaganda was in reference to rumors disseminated by the media recently after Russian officials claimed the U.S. was developing biochemical weapons with Ukraine.
In early March, Major General Igor Konashenkov with the Russian defense ministry accused the U.S. of assisting Ukraine in creating pathogens for the purpose of war. Despite a lack of evidence, these claims were widely circulated through Russian media.
However, as a member of the United Nations, the U.S. must comply with its treaty prohibiting countries from funding biological weapons development. The Biological Weapons Convention states that nations may not stockpile or create pathogens with malicious intent. Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. are all parties to the treaty.
Gabbard swung back at Romney’s allegations, telling Romney he could, “out of pride, continue to deny the truth or admit [he was] wrong, apologize, and resign from the Senate.” She claimed that Romney’s comments were baseless and unwarranted and stated Romney should “provide proof” for such accusations.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki have both made public statements refuting the claims that the U.S. is involved in biological weapons development.
Psaki said the claim is “an example of the types of false pretexts [that U.S. government officials] have been warning the Russians would invent.”
It is worth noting that neither on Twitter nor in her Fox News interview did Gabbard directly state that the U.S. had funded biochemical weapons in Ukraine, but rather that they funded bio labs. Her statements regarded the potential dangers of bio labs in Ukraine being susceptible to Russian forces.
A multitude of officials, such as Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, have denied rumors that the U.S. is involved in Ukrainian biochemical weapons labs.
In April 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine released a statement explaining that the U.S. assists the Ukrainian government in peaceful research and vaccine development.
