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Satellite images show major expansion at Russian site with secret bioweapons past

New construction at a military research site near Moscow reveals a specialized laboratory complex designed to research and handle deadly pathogens, experts say.

By Joby Warrick and Jarrett Ley
October 25, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
13 min

A few months after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, satellite imagery captured unusual activity at a restricted military research facility nestled among the birch forests northeast of Moscow. ... The Russian site, called Sergiev Posad-6, had been quiet for decades, but it had a notorious Cold War past: It had once been a major research center for biological weapons, with a history of experiments with the viruses that cause smallpox, Ebola and hemorrhagic fevers.

Satellite imagery over the next two years — collected by Google Earth and commercial imaging firms MAXAR and Planet Labs — shows construction vehicles renovating the old Soviet-era laboratory and breaking ground on 10 new buildings, totaling more than 250,000 square feet, with several of them bearing hallmarks of biological labs designed to handle extremely dangerous pathogens.

There has been no sign such weapons have been used in the Ukraine conflict, but the construction of new labs at Sergiev Posad-6 is being closely watched by U.S. intelligence agencies and bioweapons experts amid worries about Moscow’s intentions as the conflict grinds through its third year.

The images showed multiple signatures that, when combined, indicate a high-containment biological facility: dozens of rooftop air handling units, layouts consistent with partitioned labs, underground infrastructure, heightened security features and what appears to be a power plant.

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Joby Warrick
Joby Warrick joined The Washington Post’s National staff in 1996. He has served with the Post's investigative and national security teams, and writes about the Middle East, terrorism and weapons proliferation. He is the author of three books, including “Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS," which was awarded a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction.@jobywarrick