Gabbard Declassifies Documents on U.S.-Funded Global Biolabs, Highlighting Ukraine Network and Oversight Gaps

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified intelligence slides on June 12, 2026, detailing longstanding U.S. government funding for more than 120 biological laboratories across over 30 countries, including more than 40 in Ukraine. The documents, declassified in April, stem from the Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, a post-Cold War initiative to secure Soviet-era pathogens and materials. Pentagon records confirm the Ukraine component began in 2005 with approximately $200 million invested in upgrading public health and veterinary labs.

Gabbard tied the release to President Trump's May 2025 Executive Order 14292 ending federal funding for gain-of-function research, directing intensified intelligence collection on these facilities. She accused prior officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Biden administration national security personnel, of misleading the public about the labs' existence and threatening whistleblowers.

The disclosures revive scrutiny of U.S. biosecurity practices amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A declassified slide notes a Kharkiv veterinary lab likely holding dangerous pathogens and vulnerable to Russian actions. Historical context includes Under Secretary Victoria Nuland's March 2022 Senate testimony acknowledging Ukraine's 'biological research facilities' and U.S. concerns over their security, as well as earlier Pentagon fact sheets and U.S. Embassy statements. Critics argue these programs operated with insufficient transparency, potentially eroding public trust in foreign policy and raising escalation risks if labs are compromised during conflict.

Related reporting links the effort to broader reviews of pathogen research oversight, with Gabbard also preparing COVID-19 origins documents before her departure.