Now Kremlin says UK has raised the risk of nuclear war
BRITAIN’S provision of depleted uranium tank shells to Ukraine increases the chance of a nuclear conflict with Russia, Kremlin officials said last night.
The UK is including batches of the shells, which have been linked to health defects, with its donation of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The move was confirmed by the British defence minister Baroness Goldie in a statement to the House of Lords on Monday and reported yesterday.
Vladimir Putin condemned the decision in a press conference with China’s Xi Jinping yesterday. It was also criticised by the Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Depleted uranium, which is radioactive, has been used by Britain and other Nato countries in tank munitions and tank armour due to its density. Russia also uses ‘DU’ rounds.
Such rounds are able to penetrate enemy armoured vehicles more effectively than other high explosives.
But some unconfirmed reports have associated DU munitions with cancers and birth defects in children born in war zones, supposedly due to radioactive particles lingering in the atmosphere and in the ground.
DU is a potential health hazard if it enters the body through embedded fragments, contaminated wounds or by inhalation or ingestion.
The UK and US both fired DU tank shells during the first Gulf War and in many conflicts since then. Speaking at the Kremlin yesterday, Putin said: ‘The UK deputy defence minister [ Baroness Goldie] announced yesterday not only the supply of tanks to Ukraine, but also depleted uranium shells.
‘It seems the West has decided to fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian. But I would like to note that if this happens, Russia will have to react accordingly, bearing in mind the West is beginning to use weapons with a nuclear component.’ His remarks were echoed by Shoigu, who said the UK’s provision of depleted uranium shells ‘shortened the steps to nuclear conflict’.
On Monday, crossbench peer Lord Hylton asked Baroness Goldie ‘whether any of the ammunition currently being supplied to Ukraine contains depleted uranium’.
She replied: ‘We will be providing ammunition including armourpiercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles.’
British chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said of health concerns surrounding DU rounds: ‘I have been around them on battlefields for 31 years and I have seen no evidence of this.
‘Putin knows the British DU tank rounds will be highly effective against the lightly armoured Russian tanks, giving the Ukrainians a significant advantage.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘The Army has used depleted uranium in its armour-piercing shells for decades. It is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities. Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform.
‘ Independent research ... has assessed that any impact to personal health and the environment ... is likely to be low.’
‘Russia will react accordingly’