Ukraine's foreign ministry rejected renewed allegations of "biolabs" on its territory, stating the country "has never developed, produced, or stockpiled biological weapons" and adheres to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), according to the ministry's press service.
Ministry response
The comment came after outgoing US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard published findings alleging long-running US government funding of more than 120 "biolabs" in 30 countries, including Ukraine, according to a statement on her office's website.
The foreign ministry said cooperation between Ukraine and the United States has continued for years and is aimed solely at strengthening public health systems, epidemiological surveillance, and laboratory diagnostics. All laboratory facilities involved in international technical assistance programs are civilian diagnostic and research centers unconnected to any military purposes, the ministry said.
"The topic of so-called 'biological weapons development labs' is not new—Russia has used it in its propaganda for many years. At the same time, all Russian accusations have been repeatedly refuted at the international level," the ministry said.
Past international reviews
The ministry said that in 2022, at Russia's request, a formal consultative process was held with BTWC member states, during which Ukraine provided all data on cooperation programs and none of Russia's accusations were substantiated. The UN Security Council reviewed the same allegations and Russia provided no evidence to support its claims, the ministry said. In December 2023, at a meeting of BTWC member states, Ukraine officially confirmed the matter was fully closed.
"Ukraine remains committed to the principles of transparency, international cooperation, and strengthening the global biosecurity system. We call for reliance on the results of international consultations and verified facts, rather than distorted interpretations or Russian propaganda," the ministry said.
Gabbard's map
Gabbard said the "labs" in Ukraine could be "at risk due to the prolonged Russian-Ukrainian war." She said intelligence had previously warned that US-funded biolabs in Ukraine likely "contain dangerous pathogens and remain vulnerable to sustained threats of attack, seizure, or damage by Russia."
Gabbard said evidence of the full scope and funding of these labs was "knowingly concealed from the American people" by "influential people who falsely claimed they didn't exist," attributing the concealment to the Biden administration.
Gabbard also published a "map" marking purported "biolabs" in Ukraine. Her office's map relocated Kyiv to the position of Odesa and labeled one city "Cherniv," apparently intending Chernivtsi. The map also marked alleged "biolabs" in Russian-occupied Crimea and in a location labeled "Zakarpattia."
Press and analyst reaction
Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller said Gabbard used the opportunity to spread "one of her favorite conspiracy theories," distorting facts and "doing the Kremlin a favor." Miller also noted the incorrect placement of Ukrainian cities on the map.
"These four slides shared by Gabbard hardly qualify as 'evidence' for her claims. And if even the US intelligence community can't correctly place Kyiv on a map and invented a new Ukrainian city—'Cherniv' (perhaps she meant Chernivtsi or Chernihiv, but neither is located where 'Cherniv' appears on her map)—how much attention do you think was paid to everything else?" Miller wrote.
Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev of Bellingcat, an expert on Russian intelligence services, said the US director of national intelligence "effectively handed the Kremlin another information operation."
"Incredible. By publishing what looks (if you bother to look at the 'evidence') like an entirely legitimate American program, and even mentioning the risks of it being used in 'Russian information campaigns,' Tulsi Gabbard—a true 'gift that keeps on giving'—hands the Kremlin yet another information operation," Grozev wrote.
Grozev called Gabbard's actions an abuse of office: "There is a red line of manipulation and abuse of office beyond which a useful idiot inevitably becomes a traitor."
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Kremlin "has repeatedly spoken about uncontrolled US military-biological activity."
Background
RFE/RL reported it is unclear why Gabbard released the information days before stepping down as director of national intelligence, and whether the data contains anything new or revelatory. RFE/RL noted the US government has for years openly funded, through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, efforts to safely secure and control Cold War-era research programs tied mainly to former Soviet biological and chemical weapons development, with some facilities located in Kyiv, Tbilisi, and other former Soviet sites.
The Trump administration has in recent months been reviewing documents on US-funded biolabs following a decision to ban federal funding for organism-modification research in certain countries, including China, over insufficient oversight concerns. RFE/RL reported that US government bodies such as the Department of Defense have long funded foreign laboratories conducting disease research.
At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Gabbard had already claimed the existence of US-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine, citing a Pentagon document on cooperation with the Ukrainian government on safe biological threat detection and diagnosis and pathogen risk reduction. That press release stated the United States had supported Ukrainian laboratories, medical and veterinary facilities, and diagnostic sites under a biosecurity program since 2005.
In April 2022, Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation said Gabbard had for several years worked for a foreign audience for Russian money. Since the start of Russia's full-scale war, Gabbard has said the United States was "guilty of Russia's military aggression" because it had "provoked" Russia for years, and that "Washington's ruling elite wants Ukrainians to kill as many Russians as possible."
