Overview
- On June 12, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified ODNI materials she says document more than 120 U.S.‑funded biological laboratories in over 30 countries and identified U.S. ties to dozens of sites in Ukraine.
- Gabbard directed the U.S. intelligence community to step up collection on overseas labs and said that initial follow‑up reporting has uncovered details about clinical trials and other research activities at some facilities.
- The released slides and records cite more than 40 Ukrainian laboratories and list pathogens and diseases associated with samples or work, including anthrax, tuberculosis, plague, Ebola, Marburg, MERS and SARS.
- Independent experts and reporting counter that many programs were long‑standing public‑health and threat‑reduction efforts run under Cooperative Threat Reduction and related U.S. programs and that the documents do not prove secret weaponization.
- The release, timed days before Gabbard leaves ODNI and tied to President Trump’s May 25, 2025 executive order banning federal funding for gain‑of‑function work overseas, is likely to sharpen U.S. oversight actions and fuel domestic and international political disputes.