does not pass the smell test. Why have the labs in a country that can’t be monitored in an effective way? The difference between weaponization and research is not big at all and if you were to weaponize it you would want the lab near the deployment area so securing methods against accidental release are in place.
Only if you are ignorant of the development of bio-weapons. Ukraine at one time "did" have labs, and researchers, working on offensive bioweapons. With the collapse of the USSR, those labs and researchers no longer had a purpose...or those personnel places to work. The USA stepped in and re-focused those lab facilities (and more importantly) those researchers toward defensive research. At the time, the alternative was for those personnel to disperse to places like (for instance) Iran, and continue to work on offensive projects.