US to send depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Pentagon announced Sept. 6 it will send depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine in its latest military assistance package to the embattled country.

The rounds will arm previously committed Abrams tanks, 10 which reportedly will arrive later this month . In addition, their ability to bust through armor could aid Ukraine’s counteroffensive, now starting to show promise, amid Russia’s invasion .

Depleted uranium’s armor-piercing potential comes from its material — the dross left over when uranium is enriched. This results in a density twice that of lead, and hence greater umph.

But some are concerned about its use. Depleted uranium is 40% less radioactive than natural uranium, according to a United Nations report last year , and the radiation it does emit shouldn’t pierce the skin.

Still when ingested or inhaled, the substance can cause radiological damage — including, among other things, cancer and kidney failure. The rounds burst into a cloud of dust after impact, making such a risk possible, though less dangerous over time as the aerosols drift away.

Depleted uranium rounds have been used since the 1990s, in the Gulf War and later battles in the Balkans. Soldiers hit with depleted uranium fragments were studied and showed no long-term health consequences, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report.

The U.S. hasn’t sent depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine yet, but insists that they aren’t a humanitarian issue.

The United Kingdom has provided Ukraine with such rounds, along with the Challenger 2 tanks it sent earlier this year. The material “is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons”, the Defence Ministry said in a statement after sending them this March.

Wednesday’s announcement follows a trip by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kyiv, where he unveiled $1 billion in further humanitarian and economic assistance to Ukraine.

The European nation’s counteroffensive has recently arrived at the second in Russia’s three defensive lines in the southern region of Zaporizhia. Russia is surging reinforcements to the area, but if Ukraine’s progress continues, it would be a major advance toward its main objective: breaking Russia’s so-called land bridge to Crimea, the peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿——五角大楼于9月6日宣布，将向乌克兰提供贫铀弹，这是其向这个饱受战火蹂躏的国家提供的最新军事援助计划的一部分。

这些炮弹将装备此前已交付的10辆艾布拉姆斯坦克，据报道将于本月晚些时候抵达。此外，这些炮弹的穿甲能力可能有助于乌克兰的反攻，目前乌克兰的反攻已开始显现成效，而此时俄罗斯正处于入侵之中。

贫铀的穿甲能力源于其材料——铀浓缩过程中剩余的渣滓。这使得贫铀的密度是铅的两倍，因此威力更大。

但有些人对它的使用表示担忧。根据联合国去年的一份报告，贫铀的放射性比天然铀低40%，而且它释放的辐射应该不会穿透皮肤。

即使摄入或吸入，这种物质仍可能造成放射性损伤，包括癌症和肾衰竭等。子弹撞击后会爆裂成一团尘埃，造成这种风险，但随着气溶胶随时间推移而扩散，危险性会逐渐降低。

自20世纪90年代以来，贫铀弹就被用于海湾战争和后来的巴尔干半岛战争。国际原子能机构的一份报告显示，对被贫铀弹碎片击中的士兵进行的研究表明，他们没有出现长期的健康问题。

美国尚未向乌克兰运送贫铀弹，但坚称这不是人道主义问题。

英国已向乌克兰提供了此类弹药，以及今年早些时候交付的挑战者2型坦克。乌克兰国防部在今年3月交付这些弹药后发表声明称，这些弹药“是标准部件，与核武器无关”。

周三的声明是在美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯访问基辅之后发布的，他在基辅宣布将向乌克兰提供10亿美元的进一步人道主义和经济援助。

这个欧洲国家的反攻最近已推进至俄罗斯位于南部扎波罗热地区的三道防线中的第二道。俄罗斯正在向该地区增派兵力，但如果乌克兰的进展继续下去，这将是其主要目标——切断俄罗斯通往克里米亚的所谓“陆桥”（莫斯科于2014年吞并了克里米亚半岛）——迈出的重要一步。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。