Lithuania sees “hybrid weapon” in Russian Sputnik V vaccine

Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Shimonite said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using Sputnik V vaccine as a “hybrid weapon”

“They say Sputnik V is good, but Putin doesn’t want to use it as a drug for the Russian people. He is offering it to the world as another divide-and-conquer hybrid weapon. There is nothing new and useful to mankind in this”, –  the prime minister wrote on her Twitter.

According to RIA Novosti, member of the Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs Elena Panina noted that such statements of the Lithuanian Prime Minister demonstrate “the utmost level of incompetence.

“Apparently Shimonite does not know that vaccination has long been started in Russia. Nor, apparently, does she know that the Russian Federation will produce “export” batches mainly at foreign production sites. In other words, Shimonite has shown the level of incompetence beyond recognition, which is unacceptable even for Lithuania”, –  said Panina.

The vaccine against coronavirus Sputnik V was developed by the Gamaleya Research and Education Centre and was the first registered vaccine in the world. The drug is based on a well-studied adenovirus platform which ensures high efficacy and safety.