By Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Friday released declassified intelligence detailing U.S. government funding for more than 120 biological laboratories in more than 30 countries, including facilities in Ukraine that officials say remain vulnerable amid the war with Russia.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the documents shed new light on a sprawling international program involving laboratories that have handled hazardous and highly contagious pathogens. In some cases, according to ODNI, the facilities have conducted gain-of-function research, a controversial category of experiments that can make pathogens more transmissible or dangerous.
“Many of these U.S. government-funded biolabs are currently or have previously engaged in research using hazardous and highly contagious pathogens, in some cases to include dangerous Gain-of-Function research, with very little visibility or oversight,” ODNI said in its release.
Roughly one-third of the laboratories identified in the newly released documents are located in Ukraine, according to the New York Post. Some of the facilities have stored dangerous pathogens, including anthrax, SARS and plague, raising concerns that materials could be damaged, seized or released if laboratories are compromised during the ongoing war.
The Intelligence Community previously warned that at least one U.S.-funded laboratory in Ukraine likely housed dangerous pathogens and remained vulnerable to Russian attack, seizure or damage, ODNI said.
“Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth,” Gabbard said.
The disclosure renews a debate that intensified after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. At the time, Biden administration officials rejected Russian claims surrounding American-supported laboratories in Ukraine as propaganda. But Victoria Nuland, then the undersecretary of state for political affairs, acknowledged during congressional testimony that Ukraine had biological research facilities and warned that Russian forces could attempt to seize them.
Experts have disputed the suggestion that the laboratories were secret or operated as an offensive biological-weapons program, explained The New York Post. Some of the facilities in former Soviet countries were supported through longstanding efforts to secure dangerous materials and prevent the development or spread of biological weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The programs have also involved agencies and organizations including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
The review was launched following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on May 5, 2025, restricting federal funding for certain gain-of-function experiments in countries that lack sufficient oversight. The order also directed federal agencies to develop tighter safeguards for biological research that could pose a threat to public health or national security.
Gabbard has directed the Intelligence Community to increase its collection efforts related to overseas laboratories. ODNI said the effort is already producing new information about clinical trials underway at some of the facilities, raising additional questions about ethical standards, financial accountability and security risks.
“ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain to end dangerous Gain-of-Function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and people around the world,” Gabbard said.
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