UMVA has learned that a massive trove of declassified records has been released, revealing the extent of U.S. funding for biological laboratories across the globe. The documents, released by the Director of National Intelligence, detail the U.S. involvement in more than 120 laboratories spanning over 30 countries.
The release comes as a vindication for those who raised concerns about the activities of these laboratories, which were previously dismissed as misinformation. The records show that the U.S. funded a network of laboratories in Ukraine, with over 40 facilities receiving funding and housing collections of deadly bacteria and viruses.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the documents reveal that Ukrainian scientists received U.S.-funded training to work with hazardous pathogens and participated in a program focused on handling especially dangerous diseases. The records list pathogens studied or stored within the laboratory network, including anthrax, tuberculosis, plague, Ebola virus, Marburg virus, MERS, and SARS.
The declassified records also detail U.S.-funded construction and upgrades at laboratories across Ukraine, including facilities in Kherson, Odesa, and western Ukraine. A major engineering firm was contracted for the projects, and U.S. taxpayers spent millions of dollars on individual laboratory projects.
One declassified assessment focuses on a veterinary research laboratory in Kharkiv that received Pentagon funding. The facility housed hundreds of samples of dangerous pathogens, including Brucella bacteria, which can cause a disease known as brucellosis. The document warned that the lab could become a target of Russian propaganda efforts or be damaged, captured, or otherwise compromised during the war.
The release of these documents is likely to reignite debate over government transparency, gain-of-function research, and the scope of U.S.-funded biological research overseas. While some argue that the facilities were part of long-running public health and threat-reduction efforts, others claim that the documents demonstrate that the public was not given a full picture of U.S.-backed biological research programs overseas.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the documents outline a complex web of connections linking Ukrainian laboratories with U.S. government agencies, universities, research organizations, and private contractors. The documents show that U.S. funding supported research on highly infectious viruses in high-security laboratories.
The declassification of these records marks a significant development in the ongoing discussion about the activities of U.S.-funded biological laboratories worldwide. As the debate continues, one thing is clear: the public is now privy to a vast amount of information that was previously shrouded in secrecy.
