US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has announced she will release previously classified intelligence revealing evidence of past US government funding for more than 120 biolabs across more than 30 countries, including Ukraine. The disclosure forms part of a sweeping White House review of overseas biological research facilities funded by American taxpayers, challenging previous official denials about the existence of these laboratories.
This announcement marks the most significant development in the White House's review of taxpayer-funded research labs operating abroad. More than 40 of these facilities are specifically located in Ukraine, complexes that Washington once claimed never existed. The investigation aims to identify where these labs are located, what pathogens they contain, and what gain-of-function research is being conducted under US government funding.
Intelligence Reveals Global Biolabs Network
Initial intelligence file searches showed the US government provided funding to more than 120 biolaboratories in more than 30 countries, according to representatives from Gabbard's office. Gabbard stated that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will continue working with administration partners to identify the locations, pathogens and research activities across all facilities.
The review was prompted by President Trump's 5 May 2025 executive order forbidding federal funding for gain-of-function research without proper oversight. The order specifically restricts federal funding for experiments aimed at increasing viruses' functions — such as enhancing virulence, transmissibility or pathogenicity — and applies to all recipients of federal life sciences grants in countries lacking adequate research oversight.
Ukraine's facilities are among those flagged as carrying particular risk, with ODNI officials noting they are 'exposed to the risk of information leaks amid the Russia-Ukraine war.' The biolabs claim first surfaced publicly on 11 March 2022 when Russia raised allegations at the UN Security Council that the US operated clandestine biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine, though the Pentagon, the New York Times and the WHO dismissed the claims as Kremlin disinformation at the time.
Ukraine Facilities Number More Than 40
The US-funded network includes more than 40 facilities in Ukraine. The Department of Defense stated in a 2022 document that the United States invested approximately $200 million (roughly £149 million) since 2005 to support work at 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities and diagnostic sites, according to TASS. Gabbard has since issued guidance directing officials to step up information collection on laboratories and related facilities outside the United States, with initial gathering already yielding new details on clinical trials being conducted at some sites.
Previous Denials Contradict Current Findings
The Biden administration denied the existence of US biological laboratories in Ukraine in March 2022, dismissing the claims as Chinese and Russian propaganda, according to the New York Times. Gabbard stated that politicians and entities within Biden's national security team 'lied to the American people about the existence of these US-funded and supported biolabs.'
She added that the Trump administration is working with government partners to identify what pathogens these labs contain and what research is being conducted, with the goal of ending dangerous gain-of-function research. Gabbard also cited the COVID-19 pandemic in her statement as evidence of the catastrophic global impact that research on dangerous pathogens can have.
The first COVID-19 cases were detected in 2019 near a biolaboratory in Wuhan, China, that received US funding. Laboratories across the network have researched highly contagious pathogens, though officials have not confirmed the extent to which gain-of-function techniques were applied across all sites.
