Tulsi Gabbard investigates US funding of biolabs worldwide, including Ukraine – media
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is conducting an investigation into more than 120 biological laboratories abroad, including over 40 in Ukraine, that were funded by American taxpayers, as part of measures aimed at stopping potentially dangerous experiments with viruses, the New York Post reports.
It is reported that the investigation is being conducted in accordance with an executive order by US President Donald Trump regarding so-called "gain-of-function" research.
Gabbard stated in a comment to the publication that her team intends to "determine exactly where these laboratories are located, what pathogens are stored there, and exactly what ‘research’ is being conducted there, to put an end to dangerous gain-of-function research that threatens the health and well-being of the American people and the entire world."
Under Gabbard’s new directives, the US intelligence community will conduct a review of research in all US-funded biolabs, particularly in institutions conducting gain-of-function experiments that could increase the transmissibility of viruses, as well as work aimed at protecting against dangerous pathogens.
Representatives of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) noted that such foreign laboratories are located in more than 30 countries, and some of them in the past received funding under a Department of Defense program aimed at the disposal of weapons of mass destruction after the Cold War.
More than 40 biolabs under scrutiny are located in Ukraine and, as noted by ODNI representatives, may "be at risk of compromise" due to the war waged by Russia.
The administration of the 46th US President Joe Biden denied the existence of "chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine" owned or operated by the US, calling such claims Chinese and Russian propaganda in a statement dated March 9, 2022—one month after the invasion by Kremlin troops.
This explanation was provided in response to testimony by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, given the previous day in Congress, where she noted: "Ukraine has biological research facilities, which, in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of."
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that the Trump administration is correcting the mistakes of the Biden administration.
"The previous administration funded dangerous virus gain-of-function research and foreign biolabs with American taxes and then intentionally hid it from the American people," Hegseth noted in his statement. "Under President Trump’s leadership, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard… are correcting these historical mistakes and restoring justice… The era of lies and betrayal is over," he added.