LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday there was no nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war after Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised Britain for supplying depleted uranium tank munitions to Ukrainian forces.
Britain had on Monday confirmed it was supplying Ukraine with ammunition which contained depleted uranium. The heavy metal is used in weapons because it can penetrate tanks and armour more easily due to its density, amongst other properties.
But Putin on Tuesday condemned British plans to send such ammunition to Ukraine, saying Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly as such weapons had “a nuclear component”.
Cleverly told reporters at an event in London that Russia was the only country talking about nuclear issues.
“There is no nuclear escalation,” he said. “The only country in the world that is talking about nuclear issues is Russia. There is no threat to Russia, this is purely about helping Ukraine defend itself”
“It’s worth making sure everyone understands that just because the word uranium is in the title of depleted uranium munitions, they are not nuclear munitions, they are purely conventional munitions.”
Britain has used depleted uranium in its armour piercing shells for decades and does not consider those rounds as having a nuclear capability. Russia is known to also use ammunition containing depleted ammunition.
It is a particular health risk around impact sites, where dust can get into people’s lungs and vital organs.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout, writing by Sarah Young, editing by William James)
