The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced a new batch of military aid to Ukraine that includes for the first time depleted uranium munitions, which Russia denounced, and indicated the radioactive dangers of these munitions.
The Pentagon said – in a statement issued yesterday, Wednesday – that Washington will deliver military aid to Kiev worth $ 175 million, including 120-millimeter depleted uranium ammunition for the American Abrams tanks.
The statement added that the aid also includes anti-tank systems, tactical air navigation systems and additional ammunition for HIMARS missile systems.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in the Pentagon quoted a US defense official as saying that the decision to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions came now so that they are ready for use as soon as Kiev receives 31 Abrams tanks, and it is expected that this will be done next fall, but the deadline has not yet been set.
Controversial ammunition
This is the first time that the United States has sent armor-piercing depleted uranium munitions – which raise health concerns – to Kiev.
The density of uranium (about 1.7 times the density of lead) helps these munitions penetrate heavy armor, and Kiev hopes that they will help them destroy Russian tanks.
But depleted uranium is controversial because of its association with health problems such as cancer and birth defects in previous conflicts, and it was used by US forces in Iraq.
The Pentagon’s announcement of this aid coincided with the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Kiev to show support for it, as the counterattack it launched against Russian forces entered its fourth month.
Blinken also announced during the visit new aid to Ukraine with a total value of more than $1 billion.
This aid includes $100 million in military funding, $90.5 million in demining assistance, $300 million in law enforcement support in areas retaken from Russia, $206 million in humanitarian aid, and $203 million in war crimes recovery efforts.
The US secretary of state said Washington would do its best to support Ukraine, which he said was making “significant progress” in its counterattack.
Russian denunciation
On the other hand, the Russian embassy in Washington expressed its condemnation of the US decision to send depleted uranium munitions to Kiev.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also stated that the United States’ talk that depleted uranium munitions do not pose a radiological threat is either “a lie or stupidity,” as she put it.
Earlier, the Kremlin said that US support for Kiev would not change the outcome of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, as Moscow calls it.
The Russian presidency added that Washington is pushing Ukraine into war until the last Ukrainian, by providing it with all possible means.
Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has allocated more than $43 billion in military aid to Kiev.
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2023-09-07 00:37:53
