White House / President·Russia

Trump says he has a call with Putin ‘scheduled very soon’ on the Siberian plague-lab death

Published 5:00 PM CT, Tuesday, October 6, 2026 · Updated 5:08 PM CT
In the 5 PM CT update

President Trump said Tuesday at the White House that he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon” about the death of a plague lab worker in Siberia, the New York Post reported. Asked what U.S. intelligence agencies are telling him, Trump said, “So far we are in very deep discussions. We will be able to report about it probably tomorrow.” The Post reported that lab technician Daria Shipilova, 28, died Friday near Irkutsk after reportedly breaking a test tube containing a deadly pathogen.

• Donald Trump
• Vladimir Putin
• Pneumonic plague
• Irkutsk
• Russia
• Daria Shipilova
• Biosecurity
• Lab leak
• U.S. intelligence
• White House
• United States