If the United Kingdom sends uranium-depleted tank shells to Ukraine, the Russian Federation may transfer “real uranium ammunition” to Belarus. This opinion was expressed by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, RIA Novosti reported.
“And Russia will supply us with ammunition containing real uranium. if they [западные государства] they are crazy, they will accelerate this process”.
According to him, if the Armed Forces of Ukraine used shells with depleted uranium in a conflict with Russian troops, then “the answer will be terrible, it will be a lesson for the whole planet.”
Lukashenko also said that the West is unlikely to take any “frantic” action by delivering depleted uranium shells to Kiev. He also noted that Russia, China and “many other countries” have called for a diplomatic solution to the military conflict.
On 21 March, British Deputy Secretary of Defense Annabelle Goldie announced that London plans to supply depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.
“We will supply Ukraine with a fleet of Challenger 2 battle tanks, as well as ammunition, including armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium,” the report says.
Depleted uranium contains more than 99% of the uranium-238 isotope, even less radioactive (about 40%) than natural uranium ore. At the same time, the metal has an extremely high density. Due to this property, depleted uranium is actively used, among other things, for the production of armor-piercing sub-caliber ammunition.
Bullets with a core of this metal have a very high armor-piercing effect, penetrating armor, inflicting significant damage.
There is no consensus on the consequences of using depleted uranium ammunition. Since this is a fairly new type of weapon, there is no document in the UN that restricts or prohibits its use. Meanwhile, the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material classifies depleted uranium as Category II nuclear material, for which special storage and transport rules apply.
Farhan Haq, Deputy Representative of the UN Secretary-General, said that the UN is concerned about the use of depleted uranium munitions anywhere, regardless of the parties.
This is how he reacted to the UK’s decision to transport such ammunition to Ukraine.
“We have made clear our concerns about the use of depleted uranium munitions anywhere, including through the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs,” Haq said. He recalled that the UN had expressed its concerns about “the long-term use of depleted uranium because of the consequences of its use”.
The UK Ministry of Defense claims that depleted uranium is a “standard component” of munitions, and Russia is allegedly attempting to deliberately disinformation.
“This is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities,” ministry officials said. said. They stated that the Russian Federation knowingly “deliberately tried to misinform” the characteristics of these shells. The British Ministry of Defense claims that Russia also uses this type of ammunition.
The Russian Embassy in the UK has warned the country not to send depleted uranium shells to Ukraine. According to diplomats, it will be “crossing a dangerous line”.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian side will look into what the British government will hand over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“Let’s see what they’re going to release now,” Shoigu said. He stressed that Russia has something to answer.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the UK’s possible supply of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine is a step towards a serious escalation of the situation.
“This is a step towards further increase in escalation and a serious qualitative increase in escalation,” said the minister.
He expressed the opinion that Western countries used such ammunition in Yugoslavia and Iraq with sad results. According to him, the use of such bullets caused an increase in cancer in these countries and infected the soil.
This type of ammunition was indeed used by NATO during the bombing of Yugoslavia, the US Operation Desert Storm, and the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. During Desert Storm, the US military and its allies fired about 782,000 of these rounds, The Guardian reported.
During the bombing of Yugoslavia, the US military used more than 40,000 uranium core shells, most of which were scattered throughout Bosnia and Kosovo.
Residual harm from their use during military operations is a controversial issue, with different perspectives on the consequences of using these bullets on the environment and human health.
Although enriched uranium is highly toxic, unenriched and depleted uranium is no more dangerous than mercury or arsenic. The main danger of this type of uranium is dust emitted from spent ammunition, which degrades over time. in theory can pollute the environment or poison a person.
The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that the maximum dose of radioactive exposure that a person can “catch” while inhaling depleted uranium particles can increase the risk of leukemia by 2%.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report claims that the Americans’ use of uranium shells in Yugoslavia “has no impact on the environment, population, or combatants.”
Italian environmentalists who took soil samples in Bosnia and Kosovo confirmed a slight increase in uranium in the soil on the battlefield. However, the pollution values did not exceed the permissible norms, and in general “we cannot talk about soil pollution.”