The Washington Post-What are depleted uranium rounds and why is US sending them to Ukraine

2023-09-07T14:01:06.153Z

When Britain announced it would supply Ukraine with depleted uranium rounds designed to penetrate tank armor, Russia decried the move as escalation. U.S. officials has had a simple response: If you don’t like it, leave Ukraine.

“If the Russians are very concerned about their tanks staying fully operational, they can just take them across the border back into Russia,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said in a March news briefing, following Britain’s move.

On Wednesday, almost six months later, the United States announced it would follow Britain in supplying Ukraine with 120mm tank ammo made of depleted uranium, setting off another flurry of criticism from Russian officials who said the rounds could cause cancer and other illnesses.

Depleted uranium has been used in both antitank rounds and armor for years, particularly in the 1999 NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo, the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Advocates against the substances use in conflicts have long argued that it can cause ecological damage and long-lasting health effects.

Although it is a byproduct of the process that creates enriched uranium that can be used in nuclear weapons, depleted uranium is ought not for its radioactivity, but its extraordinary density, which makes it useful in armor and ammunition. Russian President Vladimir Putin nonetheless has argued that their use could constitute nuclear escalation.

The U.S. move to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium rounds comes after a controversial decision to provide cluster munitions, which human rights groups warn are predisposed to kill civilians due to their indiscriminate nature. Russia has been accused of using cluster munitions itself, as well as other taboo weapons like white phosphorus munitions, an incendiary that can cause severe harm to civilians.

What is depleted uranium, and how is it used in weapons?

Uranium is a naturally occurring metal used in nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons. It is usually enriched for use in these contexts, run through centrifuges, resulting in a higher percentage of uranium-235, a naturally occurring fissile uranium isotope.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of enrichment. While it is only weakly radioactive, it is 1.67 times as dense as lead. It also has natural incendiary properties when fired at high speed due to the high heat it creates.

The United States began developing antitank rounds using depleted uranium in the 1970s to counteract new armor installed on Soviet-made tanks.

Since then, the United States and several of its NATO allies have used depleted uranium rounds on the battlefield. In 2015, the United States used depleted uranium rounds in air raids targeting the Islamic State in Syria, despite saying earlier that it would not use the weaponry.

Depleted uranium is also used in tank armor, most notably in the M1 Abrams tanks produced by the United States. It is also put to nonmilitary uses, including in sailboats.

Why is depleted uranium controversial?

There is no international treaty that explicitly bans the use of depleted uranium, but their use in conflict had prompted long-standing concerns. Depleted uranium is estimated to be 40 percent less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium. Most of the radiation it emits is alpha radiation, which cannot penetrate human skin.

However, it is also considered toxic chemically and experts say that can cause damage to humans if inhaled or ingested.

The use of depleted uranium was particularly controversial in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, after which the Iraqi government linked the hundreds of thousands of rounds fired in the country to a rise in congenital birth defects and other health problems. The NATO bombing of Kosovo in 1999 led to similar complaints, and Italy later investigated potential links with illnesses among its soldiers who served in the Balkans.

Academic reports over the years have offered varying views of the risks posed by depleted uranium tank rounds being supplied to Ukraine. The risk from radiation itself is generally believed to be limited. The International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) concluded in 2009 that the “existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions.”

However, the chemical toxicity of depleted uranium remains a cause for concern. A 2022 report by the U.N. Environmental Program on the ecological risks of the conflict in Ukraine warned that dust from depleted uranium used in missiles can enter the body and can also result in localized sediment and soil contamination.

“The level of toxicity largely depends on the amount ingested, but it is especially dangerous to the liver,” the report found. “The chemical toxicity of depleted uranium is considered a more significant issue than the possible impacts of its radioactivity”

How has Russia responded?

On Thursday, Russian officials condemned the announcement pf the U.S. decision.

“The use of these shells has led to an increase in the number of cancer and other diseases. The consequences are felt on the generations of those who somehow came in contact or were in the areas where these weapons were used,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement.

After Britain announced in March that it would send depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine for use by Challenger 2 battle tanks, Putin likened the ammunition to nuclear weapons, in misleading claims, and threatened a response in kind.

Russia has repeatedly implied it could use nuclear weapons in the conflict in Ukraine and announced this summer that it had moved some of its vast nuclear arsenal to Belarus.

Russia, however, has pursued the use of depleted uranium shells, upgrading its T-80BV battle tank so that it could fire the new ammunition in 2018, according to state news agency Tass. It is unclear if Russian has used the ammunition in Ukraine.