THE UK government is sending depleted uranium shells for use in the Challenger 2 tanks gifted to Ukraine, a move CND has condemned as an additional environmental and health disaster for those living through the conflict.
First reported by Declassified UK, Defence Minister Baroness Goldie admitted in the answer to a written question that armour piercing rounds containing depleted uranium (DU) were included in its tank package for Kiev. She added that the rounds ‘are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles.’
A byproduct of the nuclear enriching process used to make nuclear fuel or nuclear weapons, DU emits three quarters of the radioactivity of natural uranium and shares many of its risks and dangers. It is used in armour piercing rounds as it is heavy and can easily penetrate steel. However on impact, toxic or radioactive dust can be released and subsequently inhaled.
DU shells were used extensively by the US and British in Iraq in 1991 and 2003, as well as in the Balkans during the 1990s.
It is thought that the extensive use of these shells is responsible for the sharp rise in the incidence rate of some cancers like breast cancer or lymphoma in the areas they were used. Other illnesses linked to DU include kidney failure, nervous system disorders, lung disease and reproductive problems. However, a lack of reliable data on exposure to DU means no large-scale study on its true impact exists.
‘Like in Iraq, the addition of depleted uranium ammunition into this conflict will only increase the long-term suffering of the civilians caught up in this conflict. DU shells have already been implicated in thousands of unnecessary deaths from cancer and other serious illnesses. CND has repeatedly called for the UK government to place an immediate moratorium on the use of depleted uranium weapons and to fund long-term studies into their health and environmental impacts. Sending them into yet another war zone will not help the people of Ukraine.’
Munitions with depleted uranium will have a serious negative effect on the health of servicemen who use them, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu has said. He said NATO had already used such munitions ‘during the (1999) events in Kosovo, Serbia.’ A subsequent investigation into their use revealed that the health of servicemen, who used them, was seriously harmed.
‘There were consequences. There were consequences for the health of those who used those munitions. There were serious health conditions, and they were studied. However, they did not examine what kind of effect the munitions had on those against whom they were used,’ the Russian minister added.
The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom warned London against supplying Kiev with such munitions. According to Russian diplomats, this step is fraught with risks of further escalation of the conflict. Radioactivity, high toxicity and carcinogenicity of such weapons are well-known, the embassy added.
As well, the Russian parliamentary commission probing into the activities of biological laboratories in Ukraine has established that the American biological programmes are intended for military purposes, among other things, Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker and co-chair of the commission Konstantin Kosachev said yesterday.
Russia is capable of coping with the situation in Ukraine on its own and does not need China’s military support, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also announced today. ‘We will not act as the United States acts, which supplies Ukraine with a large number of weapons,’ she stated.
When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defence Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.
In fact the USA and the UK ruling class are desperately seeking to expand the conflict. Their war has already seen a colossal inflation sweep through the planet, pauperisng hundreds of millions of workers.
The US and UK working class must give a lead on this issue and bring down the US and UK governments and replace them with workers’ governments and socialism. There is no other way forward.
