The United States announced Wednesday that it will send the controversial depleted uranium ammunition that is capable of penetrating the shell of Russian tanks. The United Kingdom has done the same to equip Ukrainian Challenger 2 tanks in order to help Kyiv break the Russian lines in its grueling counteroffensive. Ukrainian troops will use the 120 mm caliber projectiles to arm the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks that the Pentagon plans to deliver to Ukraine in the fall. These armor-piercing rounds were developed by the Americans during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72s fighting in Ukraine.
Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process to create enriched uranium, which is used as nuclear fuel and for nuclear weapons. Although much less powerful than enriched uranium and incapable of generating a nuclear reaction, as an atomic bomb would, depleted uranium is extremely dense (1.7 times denser than lead), a quality that makes it very attractive as projectile. It is so hard that it does not deform when it hits its target, which is why it is used in armor-piercing projectiles.
"It goes through the armor and heats it up so much that it sets it on fire," explains RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward GeistEs to AP. They are like "exotic metal darts fired at high speed," adds another RAND analyst. , Scott Boston.
Depleted uranium is about 60% less radioactive than natural uranium. The White House National Security Council says these projectiles "are not radioactive" and "do not even come close to the category of nuclear weapons." Numerous studies, in which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) participated, have concluded that there is no evidence establishing the harmfulness of depleted uranium for the population and the environment due to the particles released at the moment of impact, but also They assured that people who "come into direct contact with these objects could suffer the effects of radiation."
Armor-piercing projectiles that hit their target produce uranium dust and metal fragments. "The main risk is not radioactivity, but chemical toxicity," says the IAEA. "Ingestion or inhalation of large quantities can impair kidney function, and inhalation of small particles for a long time will increase the risk of lung cancer," says the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
This type of ammunition has been mentioned in particular as one of the possible causes of the health problems of Gulf War veterans or the high number of cancers and even congenital malformations in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. However, its role has not been scientifically proven.
As for environmental risks, depleted uranium is a "heavy metal that is chemically and radiologically polluting," warns the United Nations Environment Program. The International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons says bullets that miss their target can poison groundwater and soil.
In the 1970s, the US military began making armor-piercing shells with depleted uranium and has since added it to the composite armor of its tanks to strengthen it. It has also added depleted uranium to munitions fired by the Air Force's A-10 close air support attack aircraft, known as the "tank killer." The US military is still developing depleted uranium ammunition, notably the M829A4 armor-piercing round for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank.
On the ground, US tanks used depleted uranium shells and armor in both the 1991 and 2003 Gulf wars, as well as in Serbia and Kosovo in the 1990s. The Pentagon has also admitted to using depleted uranium shells twice in 2015 in operations against the Islamic State group in Syria.
Moscow considers that the shipment of this ammunition is a "criminal act" that leads to an escalation, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. For the diplomat, the US announcement not only represents "a step of escalation, but is a reflection of Washington's scandalous disregard for the environmental consequences of the use of this type of ammunition in a combat zone."
