The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this week quoted several unnamed US officials as saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden plans to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition to equip Abrams tanks that Washington transfers to Kyiv.
According to WSJ, for many months the US government has debated the possibility of transferring this type of ammunition to Ukraine due to concerns about the impact on the environment and health.
However, a senior US official told the WSJ that there currently appear to be no major obstacles to approving the ammunition. Top Biden administration officials said the US goal is to help Ukraine make as much progress as possible on the battlefield, putting Kyiv in a good position for any peace talks.
The White House agreed in January to provide Ukraine with 31 Abrams tanks.
This type of ammunition is said to have high penetration efficiency against Russian tanks.
Before the US, Britain was the first ally of Ukraine to supply Kyiv with this type of ammunition. In March, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed that it would send Ukraine armor-piercing ammunition containing depleted uranium equipped in Challenger-2 tanks to destroy Russian tanks inherited from the Soviet Union.
President Putin sets conditions for ending hostilities
In response to the above information, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 13 that Russia will also use depleted uranium weapons, if necessary, in response.
"Russia has a lot of such ammunition, depleted uranium, and if [the Ukrainian Armed Forces] use them, we also reserve the right to use similar ammunition," TASS news agency quoted Putin as saying.
The Russian president added that the country has a lot of ammunition made from depleted uranium, but has not used it so far.
Risk of pushing Ukraine to humanitarian disaster
However, according to the EurAsian Times , the fact that all sides are pouring depleted uranium ammunition into Ukraine will put the people of this country at risk of facing a humanitarian disaster, due to its dangerous nature.
Armored vehicles believed to belong to the Ukrainian armed forces are destroyed at an unknown location in Donetsk region on June 10.
Depleted uranium is a byproduct of uranium enrichment, a necessary step in the creation of nuclear weapons. With its large atomic mass, bullets using depleted uranium cores can penetrate enemy tank armor when used.
Therefore, this type of weapon could give Ukraine an advantage in tank battles. However, according to Business Insider , uranium shells when heated can spontaneously ignite, causing fuel or ammunition explosions.
In addition, the use of depleted uranium is particularly dangerous because it can lead to very toxic effects on soldiers and civilians.
US says Russia opposes depleted uranium shells for fear of losing more tanks
The Harvard International Review explains that when ammunition containing depleted uranium hits a target, the uranium turns into dust. First, soldiers inhale it, and then the wind carries the dust to surrounding areas, seeping into rivers, polluting water, or even accumulating in agricultural products and harming consumers.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a similar warning for human health when inhaled. In addition, the United Nations Environment Program emphasizes the "chemical toxicity" of this metal as the biggest concern because "it can cause skin irritation, kidney failure and increased cancer risk".
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