
Gabrielle Essix
Senior Program Officer, Global Biological Policy and Programs
The Washington Post’s chilling report on major activity at a former bioweapons research site where the Soviets once weaponized biological agents — including ones that cause Smallpox, Ebola, and other hemorrhagic fevers — is another dangerous development potentially related to Russia’s war on Ukraine. It’s a development that could have terrifying implications for every country in the world.
According to the article, satellite imagery shows a massive buildup of the Sergiev Posad-6 facility, just outside of Moscow, that is consistent with the construction of a high-containment lab. The article states that Sergiev Posad-6’s military commander, Sergey Borisevich, “described the facility as the ‘backbone of the country’s biological defense system,’ designed to create the ‘medical means to protect troops and the population from biological weapons.’” This contradicts Russia’s continued official statements that there is “nothing new to declare.”
Further, a 2023 Compliance Report, prepared by the United States Department of State alleges that “Russia maintains an offensive [biological weapons] program and is in violation of its obligations under … the [Biological Weapons Convention] (BWC).” If Russia is in fact breaking its BWC treaty obligations by pursuing biological weapons research and development at Sergiev Posad-6, the consequences could be devastating.
Potential risks include the possibility that a breach in the norm against bioweapons development could lead to an arms race. The development of a bioweapons facility in a country that is engaging in a protracted kinetic war also increases the risks of an accidental release of a deadly and contagious biological agent, which could spread disease across the globe. Perhaps even more frightening is the prospect that Russia could deliberately use a biological weapon in Ukraine, given that it has already threatened to potentially use unconventional weapons.
A laboratory designed to study a deadly pathogen may look identical to one that conducts research to weaponize it. The ability to determine the intent and use of Sergiev Posad-6 is critical, but it is very challenging to do this in practice.
The buildup at Sergiev Posad-6 illustrates critical gaps in the BWC, particularly related to verification and transparency. Despite being the key international agreement prohibiting bioweapons, the BWC lacks verification and enforcement mechanisms seen in other arms control agreements, such as the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. As a result, the BWC has limited capability to monitor compliance or investigate suspicious activities at sites potentially involved in bioweapons development.
As of the Ninth BWC Review Conference in 2022, there is renewed energy to discuss measures related to confidence-building, transparency, compliance, and verification — following almost three decades of stalled negotiations and stalemate. This political opening presents an excellent opportunity to develop and try out new measures that have the potential to be more effective in assessing and building confidence in compliance with the BWC. If the international community is serious about strengthening the BWC, it should lean forward and explore novel approaches to enhancing transparency made possible by rapid advances in science and technology.
To tackle this challenge, NTI’s Global Biological Policy & Programs (NTI | bio) recently launched efforts to address the need to enhance transparency for bioscience research and development and bolster confidence in compliance with the BWC.
In a recent workshop, NTI | bio convened more than 30 experts for ambitious discussions about a range of tools and structures that could assist in reducing the risk of misperceptions about the capabilities and intentions of any nation’s bioscience research and development activities. Examples included:
NTI will release a report in early 2025 with practical recommendations to enhance transparency and drive progress towards strengthening the Convention. Leveraging scientific and technical advances to enhance transparency regarding bioscience research is crucial for reducing misperceptions and making it more difficult for illicit bioweapons programs to operate undetected.
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2025 marks 50 years of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). It faces significant challenges and there is an urgent need to modernize the BWC, ensuring it keeps pace with scientific developments and reinforces global biosecurity.
Examples from around the world of the Global Health Security Index in-use.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacted a terrible toll with hundreds of civilians confirmed dead. The number could climb precipitously if biological or chemical weapons were introduced to the warzone, as the U.S. and UK governments have warned. Russian propaganda networks have been laying the groundwork to justify such an attack for years and this propaganda has recently been parroted by some U.S. news media outlets, further inflaming tensions and mainstreaming lies. This is dangerous and must stop.