According to British Defense Secretary James Heappey, the government in London has already supplied Ukraine with a large amount of depleted uranium armor-piercing munitions. However, for security reasons, he declined to reveal how many of those the Ukrainian army had already fired in an answer to questions in the British Parliament. Following this revelation, Moscow warned: “The British must know that they will have to bear the responsibility for this.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that after using such ammunition, cancer and other diseases are on the rise. As a result, “irreparable damage” now threatened in Ukraine. For example, data would be available after the bombing of Yugoslavia, Peskow emphasized.
Britain was the first country to commit Western main battle tanks to Ukraine, announcing the delivery of a total of 14 Challenger 2 tanks. The first vehicles are already in use. The uranium ammunition was also supplied for these tanks.
Putin: ‘Most harmful ammunition for people’
Moscow was already outraged in March by the then only planned delivery of uranium munitions. President Vladimir Putin warned against its use. Uranium ammunition is “one of the most harmful and dangerous to humans” because the uranium core creates radioactive dust and contaminates the soil. “It is no exaggeration that we have hundreds of thousands of such missiles,” he said. However, so far they have not been used.
The British Army says it has been using depleted uranium in its armour-piercing shells for decades. The Defense Ministry in London accused Putin of misinformation after he spoke of a “nuclear component”. Putin knows this has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities, it said.
Uranium munitions have already been used here
Uranium is a radioactive metal. Due to its higher density than steel or lead, it has depleted uranium higher penetrating power. The projectiles were used in the wars in Iraq, Serbia and Kosovo, among others. According to a 2010 opinion from the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), there is “no evidence of any environmental or health risk” from depleted uranium: “Radiation exposure from depleted uranium Career Judging by the naturally occurring radiation, that is very low.” But there were also media reports from Iraq of deformities attributed to the munitions used in the war.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
