UK plans to send uranium weapons to Ukraine and Russia accuses it of “damaging the environment”

Now, after sending the armored challenger 2the British authorities have announced that they plan to supply ammunition containing depleted uraniumwhich has led the Russian government to recover, once again, its nuclear rhetoric to try to prevent the delivery of these projectiles.

On Monday, the UK’s Deputy Defense Minister, annabel goldieannounced in a written statement and published on the Parliament website that “armor-piercing projectiles containing depleted uranium will be sent,” in addition to a squadron of tanks.

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This decision is based on the fact that they are a type of ammunition “very effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles,” according to Baroness Goldie. Precisely, the incorporation of this metal in ammunition dates back to the 1991 Gulf War, when the US military started using it because its high density increases the ability to pierce tanks and armor with ease. Nevertheless, depleted uranium is 60% less radioactive than naturally occurring uraniumaccording to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Yugoslavia Scenario”

Throughout the conflict, the Kremlin has issued a threat every time a Western ally announced the shipment of a new type of weapon. It happened with the HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and then with the Leopard. This time it has not been different.

“If this happens, Russia will have to respond accordingly, given that the West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component,” Russian President Trump said on Tuesday. Vladimir Putinafter his meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Moscow. A three-day bilateral summit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries and discussing the possible peace plan for the war in Ukraine proposed by Beijing.

Putin has not been the only one to rule on the shipment of munitions with depleted uranium. The Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu, has pointed out that the British decision brings a possible “nuclear collision” between Russia and the West closer. “Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer,” she indicated in statements collected by state news agencies. “Naturally, Russia has something to respond with.”Shoigu added.

For her part, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, has said that it is the same as the “Yugoslavia scenario”, since, she maintains, “these projectiles not only kill, but also infect the environment and cause cancer in the people who live on these lands.

“In Yugoslavia, NATO soldiers, particularly Italian ones, were the first to suffer. They then tried for a long time to get compensation from NATO for the loss of health. But their claims were denied. When will they wake up in Ukraine?“He continues in his Telegram message.

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It refers to uranium-laced munitions dropped by NATO troops more than two decades ago during the Kosovo war. On that use, the IAEA participated in 2000 in a study on the impact of the use of these projectiles together with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) after increasing allegations that the use of this anti-tank weapon was related to the explosion of cancer cases in the region.

The report, however, concluded that despite detecting points of contamination, these were only “slightly contaminated” and that “due to the low levels of radioactivity found they did not pose a significant risk in terms of air, water or plant contamination.” Furthermore, the report also noted that these sites did not present “immediate radioactive or toxic risks” to health.