The Biden administration will for the first time send ammunition containing depleted uranium, which notably makes it possible to pierce armor, in Ukraine, according to a document that Reuters was able to consult and two American officials.
The ammunition, which could destroy Russian tanks, will be included in new military aid to Ukraine due to be unveiled next week. They can be fired by Abrams tanks which, according to a source familiar with the matter, should be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
One of the officials indicated that the value of the new military aid planned by the United States would be between 240 and 375 million dollars (between 223 and 348 million euros), depending on the equipment included.
That amount could still change, officials said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Britain sent depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine earlier this year. However, it would be the first time that the United States has provided such equipment to Kyiv.
Depleted uranium, a by-product of uranium enrichment and spent fuel processing, is much less radioactive than natural uranium, but its particles can persist in the environment for a long time.
More penetrating armor-piercing bombs and shells
This extremely dense material is used in bombs and armour-piercing shells to make them more penetrating.
The United States massively used depleted uranium munitions during the Gulf Wars of 1990 and 2003 and during the NATO bombings in the former Yugoslavia in 1999.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), indicated that studies carried out in the former Yugoslavia, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon “have shown that the existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment presented no radiological risk to the population of the affected regions”.
Opponents of the use of these munitions, however, claim that ingesting or inhaling DU dust poses dangerous health risks, including cancer and birth defects.
2023-09-01 21:19:00
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