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A Secret Russian Lab, Dangerous Pathogens and Drinking Water—All on the Same Island
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Russia has built a secret military-linked biological research complex on an island in a reservoir in the Tver region, where dangerous viruses and other pathogens are allegedly being studied under the cover of veterinary and physiological research, according to Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) on August 21.
The facility, officially called the “Center for Experimental Physiology,” is located on Lisiy Island in the middle of the Vyshny Volochyok Reservoir, HUR said.
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According to Ukrainian intelligence, the complex conducts research involving dangerous viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens in the interests of the Russian military.
Since 2023, the waters surrounding the island have been closed to fishing, swimming, and boating after the area was designated a “specially protected territory of regional significance.”
The location raises particular concerns because the reservoir supplies fresh water to several nearby communities, including the city of Vyshny Volochyok. It also feeds the Tvertsa River, which flows into the Volga.
Ukraine's HUR says Russia operates a secret military biolab complex on Lisiy Island in the Vyshny Volochyok Reservoir in Tver region. HUR says the facility experiments with dangerous viruses and other pathogens under cover of veterinary and physiological research. The surrounding… pic.twitter.com/731YhXeD1X
— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 21, 2026
HUR warned that if dangerous pathogens or chemicals from the laboratories entered the reservoir, the consequences of potential outbreaks or contamination could be severe not only for communities in the region but potentially for other parts of Russia as well.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the biological research complex was created on the orders of Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a project of special importance intended to “ensure Russia’s defense capability and security.”
Formally, the facility operates within Russia’s Federal Medical-Biological Agency.
The closed site on Lisiy Island is reportedly under heavy security. HUR said the complex is protected from the air by surface-to-air missile systems, while the Kremlin assigned responsibility for its security regime to Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.
The agency also claimed that soldiers assigned to guard the facility have privately expressed fears of becoming infected with some unknown “filth.”
HUR additionally pointed to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle in Russia in the spring of 2026, which the agency said Moscow attempted to conceal from both its own population and the international community.
Ukrainian intelligence said it could not rule out the possibility that the outbreak, as well as other similar incidents, may have resulted from failed Russian experiments involving viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens.
Previous reports indicated that, for example, Russia has used munitions containing hazardous chemical substances more than 13,300 times against Ukrainian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion.
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-38a14791dc719f009d841d99b92cfec3.jpg "Smoke rises from a shopping complex in Kryvyi Rih following a Russian drone strike on August 21, 2026. (Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration)")
