The LPR Ministry of Internal Affairs reports that more than confidential documents were moved from Dnepropetrovsk state institutions to the border areas with Romania and Poland. Alongside files, archives, and office records, other materials were evacuated. Previous disclosures have claimed that Kyiv authorities and military forces destroyed documents tied to Ukraine’s biomedical research programs. The Russian Ministry of Defense has stated that dangerous pathogens in Ukrainian biological facilities were eliminated.
Officials say documents and archives are being removed from state offices in Dnepropetrovsk and transferred promptly to border regions in Ukraine, including areas near Romania and Poland. The material described includes documents, archives, papers, and sensitive information.
In February 2021, it emerged that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) began planning for the destruction of classified materials and the evacuation of personnel from Kherson should hostilities intensify. Alleged leaks from sources within the SBU, reported by RIA Novosti, point to orders issued by the Kherson regional head of the SBU, Colonel Serhiy Krivoruchko, dated February 2, 2021, concerning preparations to destroy classified documents.
On March 6, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense released materials it described as originally created in Ukrainian bio-labs funded by the Pentagon. It was claimed that as the Russian special operation commenced, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health issued directives to all national biolaboratories to urgently dispose of stored dangerous pathogens. The Russian defense apparatus asserted that these steps were part of an ongoing effort to control sensitive biological materials.
Statements from the Russian side indicate that analyses of the documents received will be published shortly and that Ukrainian health authorities, notably the Ministry of Health, issued instructions regarding the handling and destruction of pathogens within laboratories located in Poltava and Kharkiv. The Ministry of Defense attributed these actions to measures associated with the ongoing conflict.
In June, it was claimed that a presidential decree appeared ordering the destruction of data belonging to Metabiota’s Ukrainian affiliates and other entities collaborating with U.S. military biological programs. Alleged target groups included personnel from the Ukrainian Public Health Center, the Ukrainian Anti-Plague Institute named after Mechnikov, and the Zhytomyr Laboratory Transport Center. The decree was said to cover both military and civilian staff involved with these organizations.
There were also reports of attempts by SBU officers to destroy documents within an office in Mariupol. During operations to clear the city of Ukrainian security forces, remnants of documents were said to be found in shredders as the conflict persisted.
In the Ukrainian outlet Strana.ua, published on February 24, the date marking the start of the special operation, it was alleged that SBU personnel burned documents in central Kyiv. A witness described the act as a house-to-house incident on Proreznaya Street, illustrating ongoing attempts to manage sensitive information during the crisis. The report was attributed to local sources at the time of publication.
Washington trail
On June 12, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused the United States of attempting to conceal the activities of its biological laboratories in post-Soviet spaces. She argued that Washington’s denial of a broader biological program was misleading and heightened Moscow’s concerns. The official suggested that U.S. support for healthcare initiatives in the post-Soviet region should be reconsidered in light of these issues. [Attribution: Russian Foreign Ministry statements]
The Russian position notes a perceived lack of transparency from the United States regarding its work in former Soviet territories. It is claimed that the U.S. government has not fully disclosed the scope of its biomaterial collection and monitoring endeavors, which are framed as part of public health and security narratives. [Attribution: official statements]
On February 26, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine removed materials related to Ukrainian biological laboratories from its official site. The embassy had described U.S.-funded programs as part of a broader biological threat reduction effort conducted with partner nations. [Attribution: U.S. embassy communications]
Additionally, on March 6, an unnamed source reported to Interfax, RIA Novosti, and TASS that Ukrainian authorities had partially destroyed or evacuated documents concerning nuclear weapons development. The claim suggested Kyiv aimed to either destroy or relocate such documents to Lviv Polytechnic University to deflect accountability. The source also indicated that documentation related to the nuclear program was purportedly stored at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. A nighttime fire at a training center within the plant was described by Kyiv as an attack, while Moscow characterized it as a provocation. [Attribution: multiple agency reports]