The Biden administration will for the first time send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to a document seen by Reuters and separately confirmed by two U.S. officials.
The rounds, which could help destroy Russian tanks, are part of a new military aid package for Ukraine set to be unveiled in the next week. The munitions can be fired from U.S. Abrams tanks that, according to a person familiar with the matter, are expected be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Although Britain sent depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine earlier this year, this would be the first U.S. shipment of the ammunition and will likely stir controversy. It follows an earlier decision by the Biden administration to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite concerns over the dangers such weapons pose to civilians.
The United States used depleted uranium munitions in massive quantities in the 1990 and 2003 Gulf Wars and the NATO bombing of former Yugoslavia in 1999.
Still, the radioactive material could add to Ukraine’s massive post-war clean-up challenge. Parts of the country are already strewn with unexploded ordnance from cluster bombs and other munitions and hundreds of thousands of anti-personnel mines.
But at this point in the war, the administration has shown it’s not concerned about damaging Ukraine’s environment. In July, the US started arming Ukraine with cluster bombs, which spread small submunitions over large areas. Unexploded submunitions, or bomblets, can be found by civilians years or decades after use. Because of their history of killing civilians, cluster munitions have been banned by over 100 countries.
DU is no more toxic than any other toxic heavy metal. People have this unreasonable fear of anything that is associated with “nuclear” but it’s toxic in the same way mercury or cadmium or lead or arsenic is toxic. Its reactivity is so low it’s often used as a radiation shield.
Unfortunately, in war, there are often no good answers. This time, it seems to be a question of continuing to use standard munitions, of which Ukraine is guzzling by the ton in order to repel the Russians, or use more effective, but more dangerous in the long term, weapons that could have a greater effect in the war effort. A choice of more people dying now or dying later.
Ukraine has seen its successes in pushing the Russians back, but it needs every edge it can get when fighting a nation several times its size.
When you get an Abrams it comes with DU penetrators. Same as with Challenger which is why Britian has already supplied such weapons. You can’t supply a tank and not supply its ammunition.
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It’s almost as if the Ukrainians aren’t the ones getting a final say in if it’s used…
I agree with you. This should not be happening.
DU is no more toxic than any other toxic heavy metal. People have this unreasonable fear of anything that is associated with “nuclear” but it’s toxic in the same way mercury or cadmium or lead or arsenic is toxic. Its reactivity is so low it’s often used as a radiation shield.
Is using Cadmium a war crime?
Agree.
We just need to look at Iraq to see all the harm and damge done
Unfortunately, in war, there are often no good answers. This time, it seems to be a question of continuing to use standard munitions, of which Ukraine is guzzling by the ton in order to repel the Russians, or use more effective, but more dangerous in the long term, weapons that could have a greater effect in the war effort. A choice of more people dying now or dying later.
Ukraine has seen its successes in pushing the Russians back, but it needs every edge it can get when fighting a nation several times its size.
No, but some answers are still less bad than others. This… is towards the bad end of the scale.
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When you get an Abrams it comes with DU penetrators. Same as with Challenger which is why Britian has already supplied such weapons. You can’t supply a tank and not supply its ammunition.
More realistically Ukraine has been requesting them for a while and the US finally gave in since the UK gave them some recently.