Russian Foreign Minister: UK Supply of Depleted Uranium Ammunition to Kiev Is an Escalation

Uranium. Photo: AP

Speaking at a press conference after talks with his Eritrean counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed: "The use of depleted uranium munitions will significantly reduce, or even prevent, Ukraine's ability to produce high-quality, uncontaminated food."

For his part, Chairman of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) of Russia Vyacheslav Volodin warned that the UK's decision to supply depleted uranium ammunition to Kiev is part of a dangerous trend of turning the Ukrainian conflict into a threat to all of Europe.

“The war to the last Ukrainian could become the war to the last European,” Volodin wrote on social media. He argued that Kiev’s acquisition of depleted uranium munitions, which could contaminate the battlefield and pose health risks to future generations, could be a stepping stone to more dangerous weapons. The next step, Volodin said, “could be the use of dirty bombs or the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.”

According to Domenico Leggiero, President of the Italian Association of Victims of Depleted Uranium, the British plan to transfer to Ukraine ammunition with a depleted uranium core risks turning the conflict zone into an uninhabitable death zone due to the devastating consequences for the population and the territory. "Until the last moment, I hoped that this was just fake news. This news is so devastating for two reasons: first, it makes no sense from a tactical point of view. This type of ammunition in such conditions makes no sense. If the United Kingdom wanted to help Ukraine, it could have provided defensive weapons, but these uranium ammunition are in every sense offensive weapons of a long-term nature and have terrible consequences for the territory and its inhabitants." "Secondly, I must say that in all conflicts, this type of ammunition is used by only one side, and I do not want to name names, because I live in Italy. And Russia has never allowed itself to do this. Since it is not a conventional weapon, such ammunition could lead to the use of new weapons by the Russian side, in which case such a response would be legitimate," said expert Leggiero.

According to him, the British intention may be linked to the fact that the Kingdom is located on an island and "feels calm" about the future consequences. In Italy, he added, due to its participation in campaigns in the Balkans and Iraq, 500 people have become victims of the use of depleted uranium and 8,000 others have been injured. "It was a wrong, irrational and stupid decision. Uranium contamination turned that area into a dead land that could not be inhabited for a long time. The use of such shells, according to the British logic, could prevent the inhabitants from returning to this land, indirectly turning it into neutral territory. Behind that is a crime, not a strategic plan," concluded expert Leggiero, author of the book "Uranus: A History of Impoverished Italy"./.

Lan Ha (According to Reuters, AFP, Sputnik)