Russian forces are transporting livestock carcasses infected with anthrax to animal burial sites across the occupied region, HUR said.
Up to 50 such sites have been identified, with about 10 posing the greatest danger, including burial grounds near Askania-Nova, Skadovsk and Zaliznyi Port, the agency said.
Russian authorities are not following sanitary rules and are simply burying the carcasses instead of incinerating them, HUR said.
Many of the burial sites are neglected and located near roads or populated areas. Some are less than 1 kilometer from residential buildings, the agency said.
“Burial sites for infected livestock have neither solid fencing nor other protective structures. The soil over the graves settles over time, but the Russian occupation administration does not carry out the maintenance necessary to ensure biological safety,” HUR said.
“Some sites are located in areas with high groundwater levels, further increasing the risk of spreading the anthrax pathogen, which can remain viable in soil for decades or even up to a century,” the agency added.
The burial of infected livestock and the disregard for safety measures pose a direct threat to civilians and Kherson Oblast’s agricultural sector, HUR said.
“The deliberate or negligent creation of conditions for an anthrax outbreak is another crime by the aggressor state, Russia, which may be interpreted as an act of biological terrorism against civilians in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories,” HUR said.
Russian forces could also detonate the burial sites where infected carcasses are being placed and then accuse Ukraine of producing and using “biological” weapons, the agency said.