The government of United Kingdom has confirmed that it has sent depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine. The minister who made the confirmation added that the British miliitary would not attempt to track where the weapons are used.
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The confirmation was given by the Armed Forces Minister James Heappey while responding to questions from Scottish MP Kenny MacAskill on Tuesday.
Kenny MacAskill’s question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many depleted uranium rounds the UK supplied to Ukraine for use with the Challenger 2 tanks; and how many of those rounds have been fired.
James Heappey’s answer: We have sent thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armour-piercing rounds. For operational security reasons, we will not comment on Ukrainian usage rates for the rounds provided.
When further asked whether the government has a responsibility to “help clear up depleted uranium rounds” used in Ukraine after the conflict, the minister stated it has “no obligation” to do so, instead stressing “Ukraine’s immediate needs.”
RT reported that while Heappey claimed that the health and environmental risks posed by depleted uranium are “low,” citing the “monitoring of UK military veterans” performed for a government study in 2007, more recent research suggests the munitions could carry health hazards after all. The US used DU ammunition heavily during its two wars in Iraq, with some researchers claiming the weapons could be linked to a spate of birth defects later observed in the country. It was also used in te Balkans during the Yugoslav wars.
U.S. military veterans of those conflicts have questioned whether their use led to ailments they now face.
Russia had threatened to escalate the attacks in Ukraine when the UK government announced it would provide Ukraine with the armor-piercing rounds, which the Russians say has nuclear components.
Such rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces.
Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process to create the rarer, enriched uranium used in nuclear fuel and weapons. Although far less powerful than enriched uranium and incapable of generating a nuclear reaction, depleted uranium is extremely dense — more dense than lead — a quality that makes it highly attractive as a projectile.
“It’s so dense and it’s got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armor — and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire,” Geist said.
When fired, a depleted uranium munition becomes “essentially an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed,” RAND senior defense analyst Scott Boston said.
A 2022 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report said depleted uranium was an environmental concern in Ukraine.
“Depleted uranium and toxic substances in common explosives can cause skin irritation, kidney failure and increase the risks of cancer,” it said.
“The chemical toxicity of depleted uranium is considered a more significant issue than the possible impacts of its radioactivity,” it added.
While depleted uranium munitions are not considered nuclear weapons, their emission of low levels of radiation has led the U.N. nuclear watchdog to urge caution when handling and warn of the possible dangers of exposure.
The IAEA notes that depleted uranium is mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. Particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the blood stream and cause kidney damage.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
