U.S. Government Funded Over 120 Biolabs in 30 Countries, DNI Says

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated that U.S. government funding supported more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries. The statement said many of the labs contain pathogens that cause infectious diseases and have conducted gain-of-function research with limited visibility or oversight.

” It added that the labs engaged in research using hazardous and highly contagious pathogens, including gain-of-function work that alters organisms to enhance biological functions.

An executive order signed by President Trump in May halted federal funding for dangerous gain-of-function research. The order also directed suspension of active National Institutes of Health-funded projects that meet the definition. The statement said the new evidence includes million-dollar labs in Ukraine that may be at risk of compromise due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

It noted that the intelligence community had previously warned a U.S.-funded biolab in Ukraine likely housed pathogens causing diseases such as brucellosis and anthrax.

40 labs in Ukraine stored biological weapons pathogens from the Soviet era, according to the DNI press release. The labs held “especially dangerous pathogen certification” and repositories of disease-causing pathogens including tuberculosis, swine fever, Newcastle disease, SARS and Ebola.

The statement said U.S. funding also paid Ukrainian scientists to study pathogenic avian flu and other infectious viruses in biocontainment labs. It added that the Ukrainian scientific collaborator network includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several U.S. universities.