Biological Security Engagement in Ukraine: U.S. Cooperation and Threat Reduction Programs

Biological Security Engagement in Ukraine: U.S. Cooperation and Threat Reduction Programs

INSIGHTi

Biological Security Engagement in Ukraine:
U.S. Cooperation and Threat Reduction
Programs
March 11, 2022
During its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government has accused Ukraine of possessing a clandestine
biological weapons program with support from the United States. To the contrary, the United States has
cooperated with Ukraine on biological security programs ranging from laboratory security to disease
surveillance and pandemic response, as documented by the U.S. embassy website, annual budget requests,
and congressional oversight hearings. These programs are rooted in the U.S. Cooperative Threat
Reduction Program (CTR). The United States and Ukraine are both members of the Biological Weapons
Convention (BWC), which prohibits such weapons, and the United States has stated that both are in full
compliance with their obligations. The State Department assesses that the Russian government “maintains
an offensive biological weapons program” in violation of the BWC.
Congress has raised questions about this issue in recent hearings. U.S. Director of National Intelligence
(DNI) Avril Haines testified on March 10 that “we do not assess that Ukraine is pursuing either biological
weapons or nuclear weapons.” State Department Spokesman Ned Price said on March 9, “Russia is
inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine.” The allegation has led
to concern that Russia may be planning a “false flag” operation in which it plants evidence or uses a
biological weapon against Ukraine but blames another party.
In addition, combat operations may put sensitive biological laboratories at risk. A Department of Defense
(DOD) press release says, “There are five biological research laboratories in Kyiv. Their work focuses on
diagnostics, therapeutics, treatments, prevention and vaccines, not on military use as the Russians and
Chinese accuse.” U.S. officials and outside experts have expressed concerns that Ukraine’s laboratories
holding pathogen collections may come under attack or Russian military control. The World Health
Organization reportedly urged Ukrainian authorities to destroy research samples of disease pathogens to
avoid accidental release should the facilities be damaged in the war. An emergency meeting of the UN
Security Council, requested by Russia, discussed the issue on March 11. The United Nations High
Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said that “certain public health facilities are in
areas impacted by armed conflict putting the safety of those facilities at risk,” and that the United
Nations is “not aware” of any biological weapons program in Ukraine. U.S. Ambassador to the United
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Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Council: “Ukraine does not have a biological weapons
program, and there are no Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories supported by the United States.” She
also said, “Ukraine owns and operates its own public health laboratory infrastructure. These facilities
make it possible to detect and diagnose diseases like COVID-19, which benefit us all. The United States
has assisted Ukraine to do this safely and securely.”
In the past, the Russian and Chinese governments have repeatedly alleged that U.S. ongoing biological
security cooperation programs in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kazakhstan were military in nature. Several U.S.
federal agencies, such as the State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), cooperate with Ukraine to meet international biosafety and global health security standards. The
Department of Defense Cooperation Threat Reduction (CTR) program also works with partner countries
to destroy or secure high-priority biological pathogens (“Select Agents”) at their source and to develop
the partner’s capacity to detect, diagnose, and report a disease outbreak. The Defense Threat Reduction
Agency (DTRA) strongly denies any weapons-related aspects. Congress oversees implementation of these
programs.
CTR’s biological engagement began as a program focused on dismantling the vast biological weapons
complex inherited from the Soviet Union. Ukraine and other non-Russian states of the former Soviet
Union have been willing partners in dismantling the Soviet biological weapons legacy and securing
pathogen collections and laboratories. Facilities in these countries were abandoned by the Russian
military when the republics became independent states, and in many cases local governments were not
aware of their existence or the dangers they housed. Over time, the United States learned of dangerous
pathogen collections dispersed throughout the region. A decade after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
these facilities lacked security and safety measures, had lost expert staff due to economic conditions, and
many were in a state of disrepair. The United States, accordingly, accelerated its assistance to these
facilities starting in the late 1990s.
Congress first added funds to the DOD’s CTR budget for biological threat reduction (BTR) in the late
1990s. The DOD CTR FY2022 Budget Estimate says the BTR “program seeks to facilitate detection and
reporting of diseases caused by especially dangerous pathogens (EDPs), including zoonotic diseases,
which could affect the armed forces of the United States or its allies and partners.” DOD assistance has
focused on improving biosafety and security (BS&S) at laboratories housing pathogen collections,
including equipment upgrades and training, as well as disease detection, diagnosis, and reporting
enhancements (BSV). The BTR program has built secure Central Reference Laboratories (CRL) for
pathogen collections in Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, and completed upgrades at 39 “Secured
Labs” in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. In addition, the program has provided Ukraine with
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) technical and material assistance, including biosafety equipment,
diagnostic supplies, and subject matter expertise.
In light of Russia’s apparent persistent dissemination of disinformation regarding biological security
cooperation with Ukraine, Congress may examine how the federal government is countering these claims,
to include examining how effective the U.S. government has been in presenting information of its own.
Congress may also conduct oversight regarding the safety and security of pathogen collections and
biological research laboratories during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additional potential
oversight topics include whether personnel at those facilities are able to maintain operations and how to
leverage CTR funds in the context of security assistance to Ukraine.

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Author Information

Mary Beth D. Nikitin

Specialist in Nonproliferation

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