Watters: Ukrainian biolabs could be 'in Putin's hands in a matter of days'
Biolabs are in Odesa and Kyiv
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Jesse Watters warned that Ukrainian biolabs in Odesa and Kyiv could be in Russian President Vladimir Putin's "hands in a matter of days" in Wednesday's opening monologue of "Jesse Watters Primetime."
" … Ukraine's level-three labs are found in Odesa and Kyiv," he said. "Guess which two cities Russian troops are closing in on? Odesa and Kyiv. These two facilities could very well be in Putin's hands in a matter of days."
RUSSIA BOMBS MATERNITY AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL IN UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES
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He called the level-three labs "a petri dish of some of the world's most contagious diseases."
"And they're sitting in a war zone," Watters said. "You can see why we're a little concerned."
The Fox News host partly laid the labs at the feet of former President Barack Obama, who — as a senator — worked with former Sen. Dick Lugar to bring an agreement together.
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The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program was established in 2005 to "improve security for pathogens stored at biological research and health facilities in the former Soviet Republic," Watters reported. CTR funds were directed toward "securing pathogen strains and sensitive biological knowledge within Ukraine."
Today's labs are an "expansion" of the CTR program, Watters said.
He asked why the United States contributed to putting biolabs in Ukraine in light of Putin's years-long wish for an invasion.
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"Couldn't our leaders have found a more friendly place for their research?" he asked, noting that Russians "are stupid enough" to attack Europe's largest nuclear power plant and asking if the United States trusts Russia "to handle highly contagious viruses with the proper precaution … "
"It's unbelievable," he said.