Abrams tanks are said to use them
US will supply uranium ammunition to Ukraine
09/06/2023 9:37 p.m
What has already been hinted at is now official: the USA will make uranium ammunition available to Ukraine – and possibly soon. Because the Abrams tanks that they are supposed to use are announced for the fall. The training took place in Germany.
The US will supply Ukraine with armor-piercing uranium ammunition. The US Department of Defense announced a new arms package for Ukraine worth 175 million dollars (around 163 million euros). This includes depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks. Washington has promised Kiev tanks of this type. Great Britain had already announced in the spring that it would make uranium ammunition available to Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin then threatened to supply his armed forces with such ammunition as well.
In January, the head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, said, according to the state news agency TASS: “Should such NATO-made heavy weapons ammunition be delivered to Kiev, we will consider it dirtier to use it nuclear bombs against Russia with all the consequences that this entails.”
Depleted uranium is a waste product resulting from the enrichment of uranium for use in nuclear power plants or in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. It’s so hard that it doesn’t change shape when it hits a target. Depleted uranium is used to give grenades and bombs more power.
Abrams tanks are expected to reach Ukraine soon
The use of uranium ammunition or DU ammunition (English: depleted uranium) is not prohibited under international law. However, its use is controversial because the metal is toxic – both for the soldiers and for people who live in the war zone. Depleted uranium is about 60 percent less radioactive than uranium in its natural state.
The Abrams tanks are scheduled to reach Ukraine this fall. The US government decided in January after much hesitation. 31 refurbished M1A1 battle tanks go to Eastern Europe. They were brought to Germany in mid-May, where 200 Ukrainian task forces in Grafenwoehr began to learn how to operate them and use tactics.