US Intelligence Launches Review of Over 40 Bio-Labs in Ukraine

Biological Laboratory Investigation Underway

According to Главком: Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence for the United States, has ordered an audit of more than one hundred biological laboratories that received American funding across over thirty countries worldwide. Among these facilities, more than forty are located in Ukraine. The review aims to identify each lab's location, catalog the pathogens they house, and evaluate the research being conducted there. Special scrutiny is being applied to gain-of-function studies-experiments that artificially enhance a virus's transmissibility or lethality.

Funding Sources and Program Goals

Ukraine’s labs were financed through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, run by the U.S. Department of Defense. This initiative is designed to strengthen biosecurity and prevent future disease outbreaks. In March 2022, then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland confirmed the existence of biological research sites in Ukraine. However, the U.S. State Department has denied allegations that chemical or biological weapons were being developed on Ukrainian soil.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed support for the audit, stating that

“the previous administration funded dangerous research and foreign bio-labs using American taxpayer dollars, and then deliberately concealed this from the public.”

Gabbard, who became Director of National Intelligence in February 2025, remarked:

“The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrated the catastrophic global consequences that can result from research on dangerous pathogens in bio-laboratories.”

Since 2022, Russia has actively leveraged the narrative of American bio-labs as a propaganda tool, aiming to discredit the United States and its actions in Ukraine. The Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council noted that Gabbard has promoted narratives favorable to Moscow. Her Senate confirmation passed by a margin of just four votes, highlighting the contentious nature of her initiatives amid international security and biological research debates.

This initiative to inspect biological laboratories could significantly impact international relations, particularly between the United States and Russia, both of which have used this issue in their propaganda. Given the heightened focus on biosecurity following the COVID-19 pandemic, the audit’s findings may reshape U.S. policy on funding and oversight of biological research abroad, potentially altering how American activities are perceived on the global stage.