Moscow, Mar 21 (IANS): Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Russian space agency Roscosmos, claimed that the alleged biological weapons being developed in Ukraine "have an impact on the female reproductive system and the immunity of certain ethnic groups".

"These weapons affect both the reproductive function of women of a certain nationality, and the immune system of a particular ethnic group in general, causing allergies, intolerance to traditional food and susceptibility to diseases, leading to a weakening of the nation's immunity and its extinction without the impact of wars," RT News quoted Rogozin as saying.

He recalled that in the period from March 2017 to April 2018, he headed the government commission on bio- and chemical safety, which considered the encirclement of Russia by American biological laboratories.

"The purpose of these biological experiments conducted by the Pentagon using biomaterials obtained from experimental Slavs of Ukraine and other countries neighbouring Russia is to develop an 'ethnic weapon' against the Russian population," he said.

Earlier, Igor Kirillov, head of the radiation, chemical and biological defence forces of the Russian military, had announced that information received by the Defence Ministry confirmed the Pentagon's leading role in financing and conducting military biological research in Ukraine.

"The Russian Defence Ministry continues to study materials on the implementation of the military biological programs of the United States and its allies in the NATO bloc on the territory of Ukraine. The information received from various sources confirms the leading role of the US Department of Defence in financing and conducting military biological research on the territory of Ukraine," Kirillov said.