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Russia Blasted by West at UN for Spreading Bioweapons ‘Nonsense’ over Ukraine

Representative of Russia to the United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, US, March 18, 2022. (Reuters)
Representative of Russia to the United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, US, March 18, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russia Blasted by West at UN for Spreading Bioweapons ‘Nonsense’ over Ukraine

Representative of Russia to the United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, US, March 18, 2022. (Reuters)
Representative of Russia to the United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, US, March 18, 2022. (Reuters)

The United States and Western allies slammed Russia on Friday for spreading propaganda, disinformation and "nonsense" at the United Nations Security Council by alleging that parts of biological weapons were being made in Ukraine.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia sent a lengthy document, seen by Reuters, to the council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday on Moscow's accusation that there are "military biological programs" in Ukraine.

"The Ministry of Defense is receiving more and more material and analyzing that. We will continue to keep the international community informed about the unlawful activity carried out by the Pentagon on Ukrainian territory," Nebenzia told the council.

It was the second time in two weeks that the 15-member council met on the topic at Russia's request. Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward described Russia's move as "disinformation of the desperate."

"We've had a rehash of amateurish disinformation, which we discussed and debunked last Friday. It was nonsense then, and it is nonsense now," she told the council on Friday.

The United Nations has said it was not aware of any biological weapons programs in Ukraine, and UN disarmament affairs chief Izumi Nakamitsu told the council on Friday that the world body does not have "the mandate nor the technical or operational capacity" to investigate Russia's information.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on Friday accused her Russian counterpart of "a tirade of bizarre conspiracy theories" last week.

"This week we're hearing a whole lot more where that came from, things that sound like they were forwarded to him on a chain email from some dark corner of the internet. President Biden has a word for this kind of talk: 'Malarkey,'" she said.

Thomas-Greenfield also said "it is possible that Russia may be planning to use chemical or biological agents against the Ukrainian people," but did not cite any evidence for Washington's concerns.

Russia called the meeting on Friday to replace a planned vote on a Russian-drafted call for aid access and protection of civilians in Ukraine. Diplomats said the measure would have failed, while Nebenzia accused Western countries of a campaign of "unprecedented pressure" against it.

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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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Evacuations and Call for Aid as Typhoon Usagi Approaches Philippines

A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
A villager on a wooden boat paddles on a flooded village caused by Typhoon Toraji in Tuguegarao city, Cagayan city, Philippines, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

The Philippines ordered evacuations Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Usagi's arrival, as the UN's disaster office sought $32.9 million in aid for the country after recent storms killed more than 150 people.

The national weather service said Usagi -- the archipelago's fifth major storm in three weeks -- would likely make landfall Thursday in Cagayan province on the northeast tip of main island Luzon.

Provincial civil defense chief Rueli Rapsing said mayors had been ordered to evacuate residents in vulnerable areas, by force if necessary, as the 120 kilometers (75 miles) an hour typhoon bears down on the country.

"Under (emergency protocols), all the mayors must implement the forced evacuation, especially for susceptible areas," he told AFP, adding as many as 40,000 people in the province lived in hazard-prone areas.

The area is set to be soaked in "intense to torrential" rain on Thursday and Friday, which can trigger floods and landslides with the ground still sodden from recent downpours, state weather forecaster Christopher Perez told reporters.

He urged residents of coastal areas to move inland due to the threat of storm surges and giant coastal waves up to three meters (nine feet) high, with shipping also facing the peril of 8–10-meter waves.

A sixth tropical storm, Man-yi, is expected to strengthen into a typhoon before hitting the center of the country as early as Friday, Perez said.

With more than 700,000 people forced out of their homes, the successive storms have taken a toll on the resources of both the government and local households, the UN said late Tuesday.

About 210,000 of those most affected by recent flooding need support for "critical lifesaving and protection efforts over the next three months", the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

"Typhoons are overlapping. As soon as communities attempt to recover from the shock, the next tropical storm is already hitting them again," UN Philippines Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez said.

"In this context, the response capacity gets exhausted and budgets depleted."

The initiative "will help us mobilize the capacities and resources of the humanitarian community to better support government institutions at national, regional and local levels," Gonzalez added.

More than 28,000 people displaced by recent storms are still living in evacuation centers operated by local governments, the country's civil defense office said in its latest tally.

Government crews were still working to restore downed power and communication lines and clearing debris from roads.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people and keeping millions in enduring poverty.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.