TASHKENT, August 24. /TASS/. The Pentagon funded the activities of over 30 Ukrainian biological laboratories developing components of bioweapons, which poses a direct threat to members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday.

"I would especially like to highlight the evidence uncovered during the special military operation in Ukraine. The documents that we made public prove that the Pentagon funded more than 30 Ukrainian biolabs. Highly dangerous research was conducted clandestinely with the participation and guidance of experts from the US,"Shoigu pointed out, addressing a meeting of defense chiefs from SCO member states.

According to him, the project was aimed at "developing components of biological weapons and testing ways to destabilize the epidemiological situation.""Such activities pose a direct threat to the SCO nations,"the Russian defense minister stressed.