Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday that there was no nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war, after Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised Britain for giving depleted uranium tank ammunition to Ukrainian forces.
On Monday, Britain said it was giving Ukraine weapons that contained depleted uranium. The dense metal is used in weapons because it can break through tanks and armour more easily, among other things.
But on Tuesday, Putin criticised British plans to send this kind of ammunition to Ukraine. He said Moscow would have to respond in kind because these weapons had “a nuclear component.”
slyly told reporters at an event in London that Russia was the only country talking about nuclear issues.
“There’s no nuclear escalation,” he said. “The only country in the world that talks about nuclear issues is Russia. There is no threat to Russia; this is all about helping Ukraine defend itself.”
“It’s important that everyone knows that depleted uranium munitions are not nuclear weapons, even though the word “uranium” is in the name. They are only conventional weapons.”
Britain has been using depleted uranium in its armour-piercing shells for decades, but it does not think of these rounds as having nuclear power. Russia is also known to use ammunition that contains depleted ammunition.
It is especially bad for people’s health near impact sites, where dust can get into their lungs and other vital organs.
