Russia slams US for sending depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine
Barnini Chakraborty
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Russia on Thursday denounced the Pentagon’s decision to include depleted uranium anti-tank rounds in its newest $1 billion aid package to Ukraine, calling it “a criminal act.”
“This is not just an escalatory step, but it is a reflection of Washington’s outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of ammunition in a combat zone. This is, in fact, a criminal act, I cannot give any other assessment,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to state news agency TASS.
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The Russian Embassy in Washington also piled on, saying the decision to send the controversial armor-piercing munitions to Kyiv was “an indicator of inhumanity,” adding that the United States was “deluding itself by refusing to accept the failure of the Ukrainian military’s so-called counteroffensive.”
On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced a new security assistance package worth up to $175 million for Ukraine, which included the depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks. It will also include tactical air navigation systems and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). It is part of an overall $1 billion aid package to the war-torn country that has been locked in war for more than a year with Russia’s military.
The U.S., following Britain‘s lead earlier this year, will send the anti-tank rounds to Ukraine sometime this fall in hopes it will help Kyiv push through strong Russian lines in a counteroffensive that has made little headway. The 120 mm rounds, which were developed by the U.S. during the decadeslong Cold War with the former Soviet Union and its satellite states, will be used to arm 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks and others that Ukraine faces in its war with Russia.
Depleted uranium is the waste product of the process to create enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear fuel and weapons. Depleted uranium is denser than lead, which makes it so effective as a projectile that it can slice through armor, RAND nuclear expert Edward Geist told the Associated Press, adding: “It heats it up so much that it catches on fire.”
When Britain announced in March it would send similar depleted uranium rounds, Russia falsely claimed they had nuclear components and threatened the delivery would escalate the situation and possibly result in retaliation by nuclear weapons use.
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While Ukraine’s territorial gains in its grueling counteroffensive have been limited, its generals have expressed optimism and said they are making progress in breaking Russian lines in the south. However, earlier this week, a Russian missile strike in a crowded market in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more. The attack took place just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit.
The U.S. and Britain are by far Ukraine’s biggest backers.