The United States has announced it will send depleted uranium anti-missiles to Ukraine, following in the footsteps of Britain, which sent controversial munitions to help Kiev penetrate Russian defense lines in its slow-moving counteroffensive.

Ukraine will use 120mm shells on 31 M1A1 tanks that the US plans to deliver to Kiev this fall.

These armor-piercing bombs were developed by the United States during the Cold War to destroy Soviet T-72 tanks, the same tanks that Ukraine now faces.

Edward Guest, a nuclear materials and policy expert at the Rand Corporation, said depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to make nuclear weapons. These missiles contain radioactive materials, but they do not lead to a nuclear reaction like nuclear weapons.

What is Depleted Uranium?

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process used as nuclear fuel or as a weapon. It is less powerful than enriched uranium and cannot produce a nuclear reaction.

Depleted uranium has a higher density than lead, making it suitable for use as a missile.

“Depleted uranium is so dense that it has the velocity to penetrate the shield, and its temperature is so high that it catches fire on its surface,” explains Guest.

“When a depleted uranium projectile is fired, it becomes like an iron arrow at a very high velocity,” explains Scott Baston, a defense analyst at the RAND Corporation.

And he adds: “In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began producing depleted uranium armor-piercing missiles and added them to the armor of tanks to strengthen them. It also added depleted uranium to the ammunition fired by A10 close air support aircraft called tank killers. To work on the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank, The US military is still developing depleted uranium missiles, particularly the M829A4 armor-piercing missile.

What does Russia say?

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow “will respond on the basis that the West will start using weapons containing (nuclear components)”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “These munitions will be a step towards accelerating the expansion.” Days later Putin announced that Russia would respond to the British move by sending tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus.

Belarusian President Putin and Lukashenko said last July that Russia had already sent some of these weapons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the US decision to send weapons containing depleted uranium as “very bad news”. He said that the US use of these types of explosives in Yugoslavia led to a significant increase in the incidence of cancer and other diseases that affected subsequent generations living in the area.

In a call with journalists, he continued: “If these explosives are used, the same situation will repeat itself in the Ukrainian regions, and the responsibility will fall on the leaders of the United States.”

The US military says it has studied the effect of using depleted uranium munitions on US soldiers during the Gulf War and has so far found no risk of cancer or any other disease. He assures that he will continue to monitor the exposed players.

U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Caron Korn responded to a question from The Associated Press last March about whether the Pentagon supports the use of depleted uranium munitions, saying the U.S. military produces, stores and uses the type. Ammunition has been around for decades, especially since these ammunitions have a longer life than traditional ammunition.

Although not as explosive as nuclear bombs, the low levels of radiation they produce have prompted the International Atomic Energy Agency to exercise caution when using or exposing these explosives.

The agency said the use of these explosives should be kept as low as possible with precautions such as wearing gloves. A public education campaign should be organized to discourage people from handling these explosives.

Geist believes that the low levels of radiation in depleted uranium munitions are “a side effect, not an essential characteristic,” insisting that if the US military found another material with the same density, it would use it instead of depleted uranium. .

It is noteworthy that depleted uranium ammunition and armor enhanced with depleted uranium were used in the first Gulf War against Iraqi T-72 tanks, and later in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as in Serbia and Kosovo.

Who owns these depleted uranium bombs?

The United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Pakistan are producing depleted uranium weapons, which the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons says are not classified as nuclear weapons.

A further 14 countries are known to be stockpiling depleted uranium weapons.

What are the dangers of depleted uranium?

There have been many studies and debates about the effects of exposure to depleted uranium weapons on battlefields where these munitions were used in the 1990 and 1991 Gulf War and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

The Royal Society of Scientists, a London-based cooperative, says about 340 tons of depleted uranium were used in munitions during the 1991 Gulf War, and an estimated 11 tons in the Balkans in the late 1990s.

Ingesting or inhaling uranium, even if it is depleted, is dangerous because it can affect kidney function and increase the risk of developing a group of cancerous diseases.

Parties opposed to such weapons, including the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, say the resulting dust can be inhaled, while munitions that fail to hit their targets can poison groundwater and soil.

But Britain, which has announced it will send this type of munition to Ukraine, says in its guidelines that inhalation of small amounts of uranium dust is unlikely to cause injuries.

What does science say?

The Royal Society stated in a 2002 report that the risks to kidneys and other organs from the use of depleted uranium munitions are negligible for most soldiers on the battlefield and those living in conflict zones.

But the association added, “In extreme situations, and under worst-case scenarios, soldiers exposed to high levels of depleted uranium may experience adverse effects on the kidneys and lungs.”

“Environmental contamination can vary greatly, but in most cases the health risks associated with depleted uranium are minimal,” he said. In some extreme cases, high levels of uranium can be found in food or water in some areas, which can harm the kidneys.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said a small number of Gulf War veterans had low levels of uranium in their bodies, leading to the excretion of large amounts of uranium in their urine.

He added that studies of these soldiers showed a “small increase (i.e. not statistically significant)” in mortality, but that the increase was caused by specific events, not diseases … that could not link any exposure to depleted uranium. “

A United Nations Environment Program report on the impact of depleted uranium in Serbia and Montenegro noted the “absence of significant and widespread contamination”.

However, some Serbian politicians questioned this and spoke of an increase in the number of deaths from malignant tumors.