Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has issued a warning that if the United Kingdom gives Ukraine depleted uranium-tipped armour-piercing tank ammunition, Moscow will be “forced to retaliate.”
Putin reacted on Tuesday to reports that Challenger 2 battle tanks and ammunition containing depleted uranium were being transferred to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, according to the UK’s state secretary for defense, Annabel Goldie.
The UK announced not only the shipment of tanks to Ukraine but also the delivery of DU ammunition. After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin, Putin told reporters that if this occurs, Russia will be forced to respond.
“If all this happens, Russia will have to respond correspondingly, considering that the West collectively is already started to employ weapons with a nuclear component,” Putin stated, without elaborating.
Goldie responded to inquiries about the ammo on Monday by saying, “Along with our grant of a squadron of Challenger 2 main combat tanks to Ukraine, we will be delivering ammunition including armour-piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium.
The ammunition was “very effective in fighting modern tanks and armored vehicles,” she claimed.
The government claimed that despite knowing this, Moscow was actively trying to mislead.
Putin had described the ammunition as “escalatory in order to prevent Western security assistance despite the rounds not containing any fissile or radioactive elements,” according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based research tank.
Putin’s attempt to imply that Britain is shipping nuclear material to Ukraine was “reckless,” according to Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of the UK’s Royal Tank Regiment.
According to him, depleted uranium is frequently employed in tank rounds, potentially even by Russia.
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