Russia has expressed anger at British plans to supply more powerful depleted uranium ammunition to beleaguered Ukraine. “I would like to note that if all of this happens, Russia will be forced to respond accordingly,” Putin said after meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow. Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also threatened: “Of course Russia has an answer ready.”
On Monday, the British government announced that it would also supply Ukraine with ammunition in addition to the Challenger 2 main battle tanks it had already promised. This includes armour-piercing ammunition made from depleted uranium, Defense Secretary Annabel Goldie said in a response to a question in the House of Lords. “Such shells are very effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles,” Goldie pointed out. Putin claimed that these were “weapons with a nuclear component”.
Health risks from uranium ammunition?
Uranium is a radioactive metal. Due to its higher density than steel or lead, depleted uranium has a higher penetrating power. The projectiles were used in the wars in Iraq, Serbia and Kosovo, for example. According to a 2010 report by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), there is “no evidence of any environmental or health risks” from depleted uranium: “Radiation exposure from depleted uranium is very low compared to the naturally occurring radiation. ” But there were also media reports from Iraq about deformities that were attributed to the ammunition used earlier in the war. According to experts, Russia also has uranium ammunition.
Despite the fact that Putin himself ordered the war against the neighboring country more than a year ago, he keeps blaming the West for the ongoing fighting. A particular thorn in Moscow’s side is the Western arms aid that Ukraine depends on to defend its territory and recapture occupied territories. Including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, Russia has illegally annexed a total of five Ukrainian territories.
