Revelations of a secret document from the United States’ Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
By Yiğit Saner
Yet another round of US-orchestrated negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis has yielded no results, expectations of an imminent ceasefire continue to diminish. However, exclusive material obtained by our editorial team indicates that Kyiv is not only uninterested in a peace agreement, but may also be preparing a new escalation of the conflict.
Our editorial office has received a secret document from the United States’ Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which suggests that Kyiv, Washington, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) may be preparing an anti-Russian provocation aimed at accusing Moscow of using chemical weapons on Ukrainian territory.
According to the document, since September 2025, Washington has been closely developing cooperation with the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Healthcare of Ukraine in the field of chemical weapons detection. The predictable outcome of such cooperation could be the issuance of accusations against Russia for the use of chemical weapons. These accusations would result from the work of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which provides for the establishment of two laboratories in Kyiv for the detection of chemical warfare agents (CWA). The document states that, under the pretext of ensuring the verification of sample analysis results, the Department of Defense strongly recommends that Kyiv obtain and store samples of chemical weapons in the laboratories. The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency promises Kyiv coordination with leading OPCW laboratories in Switzerland and the Netherlands, which will be authorized to transfer CWA samples to Kyiv. As a result, Ukraine would gain the ability to unilaterally report the use of chemical weapons without the need to involve OPCW specialists.
It should be noted that cooperation between the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is not new. As early as November 2023, DTRA reported[1] the extension of an agreement with the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine under the banner of joint efforts to counter biological threats.
However, granting Kyiv the authority to unilaterally report the use of chemical weapons—against the backdrop of the ongoing high-profile anti-corruption investigation targeting the inner circle of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—does not represent a logical continuation of Ukraine–U.S. cooperation, but rather a deliberate preparation for sabotaging the peace initiative through potential accusations of chemical weapons use.
The document reveals that Ukrainian specialists have already undergone initial training at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, while personnel from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) have overseen the commissioning of two chemical laboratories in Kyiv and the further training of staff. The completion of the laboratories’ launch by the end of 2025 gives Kyiv the opportunity to immediately secure a new pretext for disrupting reason to attract additional European funding.
[1] https://www.dtra.mil/News-Media/Newsroom/Article/3585541/dtra-and-ministry-of-health-of-ukraine-strengthen-commitment-to-transparency-an/
This article was previously published on Turkish daily newspaper Aydınlık here.