UK to supply Kiev with depleted uranium shells for Challenger 2 tanks
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The British MoD said that it would supply Kiev with three batteries of the army's AS90 155mm self-propelled howitzers, adding up to at least 24 vehicles.
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Challenger 2 main battle tank. (UK MoD)
In a bid to prolong the war in Ukraine, the British government vowed to send 14 of its 227 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Kiev's forces.
It will also send radioactive-depleted uranium ammunition for the tanks it vowed to supply for Kiev.
"Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition including armor-piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium," Deputy Defence Minister Annabel Goldie told Parliament on Tuesday in response to a question from Lord Raymond Hylton. "Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles."
The UK will transfer depleted uranium shells to Ukraine, said Deputy Defense Minister Annabel Goldie.
— Spriter (@spriter99880) March 21, 2023
Such projectiles infect the area and can cause cancer. pic.twitter.com/QEPuFfdWDx
The Challenger 2 tanks have been out of production for over 20 years and merely 227 remain in service with the British army.
On February 21, the Daily Mail said that less than 100 of the 227 Challenger 2 tanks are considered combat-ready.
Depleted uranium shells cursed Fallujah with a huge rise in birth defects and cancers … if you want too see it for yourself, Google “Fallujah Birth-defects”
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) March 21, 2023
2/ pic.twitter.com/hciovsD3mM
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has already pledged to send 14 of the tanks to Kiev.
Sweden has reportedly accepted to supply the British government with Archer wheeled motorized howitzers from BAe System's Swedish subsidiary Bofors to replace the British army's AS90 155mm self-propelled howitzers which will be delivered to Kiev.
The British MoD said that it would supply Kiev with three batteries of the army's AS90 155mm self-propelled howitzers, adding up to at least 24 vehicles.
Depleted uranium has been used for civil and military purposes for many years, including by the US army and their allies in the 1991 Gulf war and the invasion of Iraq which resulted in several cases of birth defects and increased rates of cancer among the Iraqi population.
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In response to the UK's plan to deliver depleted uranium shells to Ukraine, Konstantin Gavrilov, the leader of the Russian delegation at the military security and weapons control negotiations in Vienna, told Sputnik that NATO has entirely lost touch with reality.
"In an attempt to annoy our country, the aggressive NATO members have completely lost touch with reality," Gavrilov said."
"The Anglo-Saxons have long adopted the principle that 'Everything is allowed against Russia,'" he added.
In the plenary session of the OSCE Security Cooperation Forum on January 25, this year, the Russian delegation had stated that heavy systems supplied to Kiev, such as Leopard 2 tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, could be armed with penetrating armor-piercing shells with uranium cores.
