It would have hit different if they had mentioned it before they mobilized. I don't know that Putin made public mention of biolabs and that type of research as the raison d'être for the war. But instead it came off to the West as 5th gen warfare. If that's the right term for information war stuff. It may not have come off like propaganda if they'd led with it for months or years. Publicly.

I'm of course willing to accept I missed the pre mobilization declaration.