A former CIA officer has sounded a strong note of caution regarding Russia’s official explanation for the death of a 28-year-old researcher, Darya Shipilova, who worked at a facility housing dangerous pathogens. Glenn Corn, a former CIA officer and professor at the Institute of World Politics, highlighted Russia’s extensive history of deception, citing the 1979 Sverdlovsk anthrax outbreak and the Kremlin’s initial denials of ties to the Wagner mercenary group, as reasons to doubt Moscow’s narrative that Shipilova died of “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and not from a pathogen from her lab. Corn, fluent in Russian and with decades of overseas intelligence experience, explained that this “strategic culture of leadership” in Russia, rooted in a fear of the outside world and a belief in pervasive deception, mirrors practices seen in China, where officials are disincentivized from reporting bad news for fear of reprisal. He stressed that the U.S. must independently verify Russia’s claims and remain vigilant for any signs of a wider outbreak, rather than accepting Moscow’s account at face value, especially given the potential for deliberate obfuscation. While Russian authorities have stated that those quarantined after contact with Shipilova have been released with no plague cases found, and the WHO has assessed the risk outside Russia as “very low,” the historical pattern of secrecy necessitates a high degree of scrutiny from international observers.
Adapted from: Latest World News on Fox News
