The specter of containing ammunition returns Impoverished uranium. And I’m not waving it Dmitry Medvedev o Vladimir Putin in person, but the Great Britain. To announce, in a totally informal way, the supply of armor-piercing anti-tank shells potential containing the radioactive substance was the Baroness Annabel GoldieDeputy Defense Minister in the Tory government of Rishi Sunak, during a hearing in the non-elective House of Lords. A declaration which in fact did not find space in the British media, but which was re-launched today by the Ukrainian ones who analyzed the stenogram on the website of the Parliament of Westminster. The words of the deputy minister provoked an immediate reaction from Russia: the head of Defense, Sergei Shoigureplied that after this announcement nuclear confrontation is “just a few steps away”.
It was the ninety-year-old who put the question to Goldie Lord Hylton, a veteran of the assembly, aristocrat, ex soldier and philanthropist who has long been involved in peace initiatives: “I would like to ask His Majesty’s government – he said – if any of the ammunition currently supplied to Ukraine contains depleted uranium”. The government member’s response was clear: “Together with a squadron of heavy combat tanks Challenger 2 we will also send the relevant ammunition, including armor-piercing shells that contain depleted uranium – Goldie said flatly – These shells are highly effective to neutralize modern tanks and armored vehicles”.
The problem is that this type of ammunition, even if it contains a minimum quantity of radioactive substance, if used in a massive way can certainly become dangerous for the soldiers engaged in the field, but also for the local populations. The depleted uranium shells exploded in combat against an armored tank, in fact, release a highly toxic dust which can remain in contact with or near the affected vehicles, but also on the ground, or even buried under the surface of the ground. This dust, if touched even by accident, can contaminate clothes or come into direct contact with the skin of other people who, in turn, can become transport agents, as can any other living thing or object ‘touched’ by uranium .
The danger associated with the use of these munitions has been discussed ever since the first effects emerged, especially on the military, denounced by the victim’s family associations in the conflicts of former Yugoslaviaespecially in Kosovo. So much so that tumor forms developed by soldiers they took the name of “Balkan Syndrome”. The correlation between the diseases developed and the use of these weapons is supported by the high number of people exposed to this agent who then fell ill and, above all, by various sentences of conviction paid by the Ministry of Defence, which in more than one case has had to compensate the families of deceased soldiers.
The decision of United Kingdommoreover, increases the risk of a use of atomic weapons by Russia in response to the Ukrainian action. This was declared by Shoigu, but also by other members of the Russian executive. “There is no doubt that it will end badlyfor London, the Russian foreign minister said Sergei Lavrov in a TV interview Russia-1. “I wouldn’t be surprised by this development, if this (handover) actually takes place, but there is no doubt that it will end badly for them,” Lavrov said. Of these supplies “I have not heard of, but I would not be surprised by anything because they have completely lost their sense of direction regarding their actions and how they undermine strategic stability around the world“. And Vladimir Putin himself intervened on the merits: “They are trying to fight this conflict to the last Ukrainian not only in theory, but also in practice. The West is starting to use weapons with nuclear elements”.