Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Netanyahu: If Lebanese Army takes steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including phased reduction of Israeli military presence in Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Photojournalist Houssam Al-Masri martyred, reporters Hatem Omar, Mohammad Ashraf Salameh injured in Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex.
Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace

US refuses to say if Ukraine is to receive toxic depleted uranium ammo

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Intercept
  • 27 Jan 2023 21:27
  • 4 Shares
5 Min Read

The United States is not declaring whether it would be providing Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition to use against Russian tanks.

  • x
  • M2 Bradely Infantry Fighting vehicle (BAE Systems)
    M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicle (BAE Systems)

The White House is not disclosing whether Washington would give Ukraine depleted uranium anti-tank munition in light of the ongoing war, according to the transcript of a press briefing, as reported by The Intercept, despite there being mountains of evidence showing that the weapon causes cancer and birth defects.

According to The Intercept, an unnamed reporter asked on January 25 unnamed "senior administration officials" at a background briefing whether the Bradley Fighting Vehicles Washington was sent to Ukraine in the form of aid would be armed with the 25 mm armor-piercing depleted uranium rounds they are renowned for being able to fire.

The official only responded by saying they were "not going to get into the technical specifics." However, the technical specifics in question are critical, as they could damage Ukrainians - which they are supposed to help - in the long run.

Depleted uranium is a common byproduct of manufacturing nuclear fuel and weaponry, making it able to penetrate through the thick layers of a tank's armor and ignite everyone inside of it, though the radioactivity and toxicity of these rounds are believed to have caused birth defects, cancer, and other diseases, most notably in Iraq during the US war on the country. 

The US heavily used depleted uranium rounds in Iraq during the Gulf War, firing nearly a million rounds, and the subsequent years saw a spike in birth defects and cancers in the country.

Experts told The Intercept that the risks the radioactive weapons pose mean the White House owed the public transparency regarding the transfer of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine.

Despite the cons of using depleted uranium, the West is unable to curb Ukraine from using it if it falls into its hands, as they are believed to be able to help Kiev against Russia's tanks.

"When there is war, everything else is secondary compared to sheer survival. On the other hand, the outcry because of environmental destruction must not be omitted if the country is to be habitable again afterward," the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons said at the start of the Ukraine war.

The Pentagon had announced in early January its latest military assistance package for Ukraine, worth $3.75 billion includes 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, 500 TOW anti-tank missiles, and 250,000 rounds of 22mm ammunition.

It also includes 100 M113 Armored Personel Carriers, 55 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), and 13 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs). 

Related News

Valery Zaluzhny: From Ukraine top general to presidential prospect

FP: Why the Global South won't pick sides in US-China rivalry

It includes 70,000 155mm artillery rounds, 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds, and 1,200 155mm artillery rounds of the Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) system. 

The package additionally provides Ukraine with 36 105mm towed Howitzers and 95,000 105mm artillery rounds.

It also includes 10,000 120mm mortar rounds, additional ammunition for HIMARS, and approximately 2,000 anti-armor rockets. 

The Pentagon further stated that the package will include - for the first time ever - the Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft, anti-missile weapon systems which, according to Cooper, will be integrated into the Soviet Buk surface-to-air missile system.

"The RIM-7 will integrate with the Buk system. So, this is a Soviet-type system. The S-300, that's a strategic range, whereas the Buk is a shorter-range system," Cooper said during a press briefing. "It is a creative solution that did require some engineering finesse"

Meanwhile, Politico reported on Thursday that the US will send Ukraine its most modern Abrams M1 main battle tank, citing three informed sources. 

According to Pentagon Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh, the US will supply the more modern M1A2 type of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, confirming earlier rumors from US media.

President Biden announced on Wednesday that the US would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. However, US officials have stated that it will take a few months to finalize the training and delivery process before they can be mobilized on the battlefields in Ukraine, most likely they wouldn't be delivered before the anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. 

The arms delivery prompted warnings and reminders that federal regulations prevent the government from being equipped with a covert armor that uses depleted uranium.

According to the report, the M1A2 Abrams tank has upgraded targeting optics on top of the M1A1 version incorporating a separate thermal optics system that enables the tank's commander to search for targets in all kinds of weather and battlefield circumstances.

Costing around $10 million a piece, the US-made complex battle tank is very difficult to maintain and will pose a logistical challenge to be resupplied as it operates on jet fuel.

  • United States
  • Pentagon
  • Russia
  • Abrams Tanks
  • Depleted Uranium
  • Ukraine

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)

Hamas, other factions accept Egypt-Qatar ceasefire proposal: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 18 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS