kyiv will receive a particularly controversial weapon from Washington. The United States will provide anti-tank munitions containing depleted uranium, as part of new aid announced Wednesday totaling $ 1 billion and supposed to give “new impetus” to the counter-offensive against Russian forces.
The aid was announced in kyiv by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Wednesday. In addition to anti-tank ammunition, it includes in particular $300 million for Civil Security in liberated areas, $206 million in humanitarian aid, $200 million to support local institutions, $90 million for mine clearance and $100 million to fund future purchases. military equipment.
London is also studying the delivery of this ammunition
The strictly military part of an amount of 175 million dollars therefore provides for the delivery of 120 mm ammunition containing depleted uranium and intended for American Abrams combat tanks, promised in Kiev, specified the Pentagon. These tanks should arrive sometime in the fall.
The United Kingdom had already announced several months ago its intention to deliver depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, an initiative then denounced by Moscow, which threatened to use it too. On Wednesday, the Russian Embassy in the United States also denounced the promised supply of this ammunition by Washington to Kiev, describing this future aid as a “clear sign of inhumanity”.
These ammunition are a formidable weapon for piercing armor but controversial because of the toxic risks for soldiers and populations. Depleted uranium is a by-product of the uranium enrichment process. It is about 60% less radioactive than natural uranium. The National Security Council of the White House thus assured that these shells “are not radioactive” and “do not even approach the category of nuclear weapons”.
Ammunition already used by the Americans
The use of such ammunition is not prohibited by international law. They are also in staffing in many armies, in particular American and Russian. They were used during the two Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003 as well as in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s. The Pentagon has also admitted to having used depleted uranium shells twice in 2015 in operations against the Islamic State group in Syria.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), depleted uranium is a “heavy metal, chemically and radiologically polluting”. Armor piercing shells hitting their target produce uranium dust and metal fragments. In terms of health, “the main risk is not radioactivity but chemical toxicity. Ingestion or inhalation of large amounts may affect kidney function. If a person inhales large amounts of small particles over a long period of time, the main health concern will be an increased risk of lung cancer,” the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission points out.
A harmfulness not unanimously recognized
Depleted uranium munitions have been cited as one of the possible causes of the health problems of Gulf War veterans and the high number of cancers and congenital malformations in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. However, their role has not been scientifically proven. Numerous studies have concluded that there is no evidence establishing the harmfulness of depleted uranium, but these results remain disputed.
According to studies with which the International Atomic Energy Agency has been associated, “the radiological risk to which populations and the environment were exposed was not significant in cases where the presence of depleted uranium had caused localized contamination of the environment in the form of small particles released on impact,” said the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs.
On the other hand, “when fragments of depleted uranium munitions or complete munitions of this type are discovered, people who come into direct contact with these objects could suffer the effects of radiation”, concludes the United Nations.