According to the latest information, the White House is planning to transfer depleted uranium shells to Ukraine. Find out what type of shells these are and why russia is so concerned about them

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Recently, the Biden administration decided to equip Abrams tanks that are to be delivered to Ukraine soon. Thus, to increase the efficiency of the equipment, they decided to arm them with depleted uranium shells used by the US Army. 

We wrote more about the US military aid here.

These shells have a specific design and are able to effectively penetrate the armor of russian vehicles even from a long distance. Therefore, the United States sees this as an opportunity to make as much progress as possible at the front and increase the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army. In addition, according to top officials of the Biden administration, if negotiations are necessary, this type of weapon will help Kyiv take a strong position.

What are these depleted uranium shells?

Depleted uranium is found only in the core of an armor-piercing projectile and does not have high radioactivity, although it is considered carcinogenic and toxic. It is characterized by a high level of density and hardness, which is why uranium is often used in the production of ammunition and military armor. 

The core of such a projectile has a visual resemblance to an arrow. This is necessary to ensure that the ammunition accelerates efficiently in the barrel of the weapon and does not have much air resistance during flight.

Due to these characteristics, when a projectile hits a vehicle, it directs a large amount of kinetic energy to a specific point and effectively penetrates any armor. American analysts compare the impact of a shell to that of a freight train.

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Are depleted uranium shells safe?

Experts from different countries have repeatedly spoken out about the harmfulness of using depleted uranium shells on the environment. According to them, this is a safe technology that has been used for many years around the world. 

It is worth noting that this is the second time moscow has raised the issue of depleted uranium shells. After all, Ukraine already has this type of ammunition in its arsenal, having previously received it from the United Kingdom. At the time, the russian authorities, and putin in particular, claimed that these shells were harmful to the environment and human health. However, their words only provoked sarcasm from world leaders, because even russia itself, despite loud statements and hysteria around the fact that it had transferred these weapons to Ukraine, uses depleted uranium shells on the battlefield. This was repeatedly confirmed during the capture of trophy equipment by Ukrainian soldiers.

Why, then, is russia concerned about the transfer of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine?

According to experts, russia is not afraid of the harmfulness of these munitions, but of their penetration. After all, depleted uranium shells can penetrate even heavy-duty composite armor.

In addition, the peculiarity of this type of ammunition is its outer shell, which is destroyed upon hitting the target, releasing a core arrow that easily penetrates armor. Thus, depleted uranium is compressed, heats up, and starts to burn, which leads to an explosion and penetration of any armor.

And finally, after such a projectile hits enemy armored vehicles, the possible toxicity of the depleted uranium core is the least of the crew's worries. 

So, all these factors only show that russia is worried about losing the advantage on the battlefield, because Ukraine will be able to effectively destroy any of their armored vehicles, not about the threat of environmental pollution or radioactive poisoning of its military. 

Moreover, the whole world has repeatedly seen that no environmental disaster or food crisis, or even human life, is an obstacle for the russian authorities to pursue their imperial ambitions.

We remind you, according to the latest reports from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are succeeding in several areas of the frontline in the course of counteroffensives. We told you which settlements have already been liberated and how the map of hostilities in Ukraine has changed in our previous article.

Photo: FB General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

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