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Britain insists on sending depleted uranium rockets to Ukraine, ignoring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings. Photos/Illustrations
LONDON – English confirm will send armor piercing bullets to Ukraine together tank Changllenger 2 insisting that it has a low radiation risk.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would be “forced to react” if Britain sent shells made with Depleted Uranium to Ukraine. He accused the West of deploying weapons with a “nuclear component”.
“Depleted uranium is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons,” the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
“The British Army has used depleted uranium in its armor-piercing rounds for decades,” the statement added.
“Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to suppress information. Independent research by scientists from groups such as the Royal Society has assessed that any impact on personal health and the environment from the use of depleted uranium munitions is likely to be low,” the statement said.
Former British Army tank commander – and chemical weapons expert – Hamish de Breton-Gordon, said Putin’s comments were “classic disinformation”.
He said the depleted uranium rounds used by the Challenger 2 tanks contained only trace elements of depleted uranium.
He added it was “ridiculous” to suggest depleted uranium rounds were in any way linked to nuclear weapons, which use enriched uranium.
Depleted uranium is what remains after natural uranium has been enriched, either for weapons manufacture or for reactor fuel.
