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UKRAINE

COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAM

BIOLOGICAL THREAT REDUCTION PROGRAM

• BTRP’s priorities in Ukraine are to help them 

consolidate and secure pathogens and to 

continue to ensure Ukraine can detect and 

report disease outbreaks before they pose 

security or stability threats. All of BTRP’s 

efforts are peaceful in nature and subject to 

rigorous export-control measures and vetting 

processes. BTRP sponsors no gain of function 

research or “human experimentation.” 

• Ukraine is a State Party to Biological and Toxin 

Weapons Convention (BWC). In accordance 

with an August 2005 CTR agreement, the 

DoD has been funding security upgrades 

at Ukrainian biological laboratories where 

collections of pathogens are kept. 

• BTRP has supported 46 laboratories, facilities 

and diagnostic sites for the Ministry of Health 

and Ministry of Agriculture. BTRP has also 

provided the Ministry of Defense with 3 mobile 

diagnostic laboratories, with the goal of 

enhancing the system of disease surveillance 

and emergency preparedness in the Armed 

Forces of Ukraine. All of this assistance 

improved Ukraine’s COVID-19 response. 

The Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), part of the Department of Defense’s Cooperative 

Threat Reduction (CTR) program, is implemented by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). 

Since 2005, the program assisted the Ukrainian government in converting former Soviet biological 

weapons (BW) research facilities to support peaceful and safe biological detection and diagnostic 

capabilities and reduce the threats posed by dangerous pathogens, whether they are naturallyoccurring, accidental, or intentional.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency enables the Department of Defense, the 

United States Government and International partners to counter and deter DTRA MISSION weapons of mass destruction and emerging threats.

KEY FACTS

• All of these are Ukrainian facilities owned 

and operated by the government of Ukraine, 

which aims to improve human and animal 

health capacity for the people of Ukraine. 

• On a daily basis, Russia propagates, either 

directly through state-run media outlets or 

through the use of surrogates, disinformation 

aimed at BTRP’s laboratory and capacity 

building efforts in former Soviet Union 

countries. The Lugar Center in Georgia 

and the Central Reference Laboratory in 

Kazakhstan are the primary targets, but more 

recent disinformation efforts have targeted 

laboratories in Ukraine. Through these 

disinformation campaigns, Russia falsely 

claims the United States, and specifi cally 

DTRA, is developing biological weapons 

in laboratories in these countries, as well 

as killing local populations with purposeful 

releases of biological agents. 

• Russia illegally took possession of two 

Ukrainian-owned labs that BTRP upgraded in 

2014 and continues to deny Ukrainian access 

to these facilities. To date, we are unaware 

of any attempts to use these facilities for 

disinformation purposes.

• BTRP is just one of many organizations 

providing equipment and training to these 

facilities. Other supporters include, among 

others, the European Union, World Health 

Organization, international universities and 

research institutions, as well as other U.S. 

interagency partners. 

• Even though BTRP has had an active biological 

engagement with the government of Ukraine 

since 2005, there are many Ministry of Health 

and Ministry of Defense facilities that have not 

asked for, or received equipment or training 

from the United States.