UNITED NATIONS

The UN Security Council rejected a Russian drafted resolution Wednesday calling for an investigation into claims that the US and Ukraine carry out ''military biological activities'' on Ukrainian territory.

Only Russia and China voted in favor of the resolution, with the US, UK and France voting against it and the remaining 10 members of the Council abstaining.

In order to be adopted, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no veto by any of the five permanent members of the Council -- Russia, China, the US, the UK and France.

Russia's claims that the US has biological warfare labs in Ukraine emerged soon after Moscow launched its war on the Eastern European nation on Feb. 24.

Ukraine and the US have rejected the Russian allegations.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy UN envoy, accused Western countries of derailing the negotiations on the draft resolution.

''Western countries are simply fearful of establishing the commission, the kind of commission that would consider the materials presented by Russia and will investigate them,'' he said.

US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said these accusations are a part of Russia's disinformation campaign to distract from its atrocities in Ukraine.

''Russia tried, and failed, to claim that we had violated the BWC (Biological Weapons Convention) at the Article 5 meeting in Geneva this past September. Russia failed to provide any credible evidence to support these false allegations,'' she said.

''Despite Russia’s abuse of the process, and precisely because we respect the BWC and its provisions, the United States and Ukraine went through Russia’s allegations in Geneva point by point and debunked every single one.''