The state of legal regulation of the handling of biological weapons in Ukraine

Abstract

The issue of epidemic safety has been relevant in recent years. The large-scale war that began by Russia on February24, 2022 not only did not solve the issue of protecting public health from various threats, but on the contrary, exacerbatedand increased their relevance. It is necessary to state the constant tension due to the growing risk of Russia’s use of variousweapons, including biological ones, against Ukraine, which is a type of weapon of mass destruction.Given this situation, the article examines the state of legal regulation of the handling of biological weapons in Ukraine.It is stated that such legal regulation corresponds to world trends. Our state is a participant in all international actsrelated to the prohibition and prevention of the use of biological weapons. An analysis of a number of international acts(Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methodsof Warfare (1925), The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological(Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (The Biological Weapons Convention or BWC) (1972) etc.),has revealed some of their shortcomings, which lead to the possibility of avoiding responsibility for the development ofbiological weapons or to the difficulty of proving such activities by a particular state. It is established that theseshortcomings lead to the lack of a sufficiently effective mechanism to protect humanity from the use of such weapons. Atthat time, the authors came to the conclusion that national legislation contains strict and sufficient prohibitions on suchacts. At the same time, the paradigm of national security should be reconsidered by creating an effective mechanism forcombating threats to public health, as well as overcoming medical, biological, economic, social, humanitarian and otherconsequences of the spread of particularly dangerous infectious diseases. In general, the existence of armed conflict inour country increases the threat of using biological weapons against civilians or the military, which necessitates deepdevelopment of the problem at the fundamental level for optimal legislative consolidation of new approaches to Ukraine’sepidemic security as part of its national security.