United States: The US has announced that it will send weapons to Ukraine as part of more than $1 billion in military and humanitarian aid, a move condemned by Russia. The US will send Abrams tanks with shells strong enough to pierce conventional tank armour to Ukraine. The tanks are made of depleted uranium, a by-product of uranium enrichment stripped of most radioactive material.
The announcement of a new security package for Ukraine came during top US diplomat Mr. Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv, prompting an angry Russian response. The 120mm uranium tank rounds, included in $175 million of US military equipment for Ukraine, are for M1 Abrams tanks due to be delivered to Ukraine later this year. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the tanks cannot generate a nuclear reaction and are considered “considerably less radioactive than natural uranium.”
Russia also reacted angrily when the UK announced in March that it was sending depleted uranium shells to Ukraine for its Challenger 2 tanks. When President Mr. Vladimir Putin described the weapons as having a “nuclear component,” the UK Ministry of Defence replied that it had used depleted uranium in its armour-piercing shells for decades and accused Moscow of deliberately spreading misinformation.
The US National Security Council spokesman Ms. John Kirby has described them as “a commonplace type of munition”. The US will also provide anti-armour systems, tactical air navigation systems, and additional ammunition for Himars missiles.
“This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum,” Mr. Blinken further remarked. The Russian embassy in Washington denounced the decision as “an indicator of inhumanity,” noting that the US was “deluding itself by refusing to accept the failure of the Ukrainian military’s so-called counter-offensive.”
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