White House gives advice to Russia, which is worried about its tanks in Ukraine being destroyed by depleted uranium
John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council at the White House, has stated that depleted uranium rounds are a common type of munition, and that Russia's claims that they are a step toward escalation are groundless.
Source: Kirby, during a briefing on 22 March, reported by European Pravda
The White House representative said that the United States is not providing Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions.
"There have been health studies done on depleted uranium munitions, it is not a radioactive threat, it is not anywhere close to going into the nuclear realm. This is a commonplace type of munition that is used particularly for its armour-piercing capabilities," he emphasised.
"If Russia is deeply concerned about the welfare of their tanks and tank soldiers, the safest thing for them to do is move them across the border, get them out of Ukraine," Kirby added.
Background: On Monday, the UK confirmed that it will supply Ukraine with depleted uranium rounds. Russian President Vladimir Putin later criticised the decision, falsely claiming that it was a weapon with a "nuclear component".
Depleted uranium is a waste product of the uranium enrichment process, which involves the separation of the uranium-235 isotope from natural uranium. Due to its high density, depleted uranium is also used in the armour of military vehicles (in particular, M1 Abrams tanks) and armour-piercing rounds.
NATO countries are known to have used munitions containing depleted uranium during the Kosovo operation, which is why they were accused of increasing the incidence of leukaemia.
However, according to experts, such rounds existed in the Soviet Union, and Russian troops have already used them in Ukraine during the full-scale war. In addition, there is no reason to believe that depleted uranium is related to nuclear weapons, as Putin has claimed.
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