Putin on Depleted Uranium and Russia's Future Actions

The President of Russia has noted that there is a certain danger from the weapons supplied to Ukraine, and Moscow is aware of these supplies. Russia has a response to the depleted uranium shells supplied to Kyiv. This statement was made by President Vladimir Putin.

He emphasized that there are hundreds of thousands of such shells in Russia, but they have not yet been used.

“Of course, there are dangers when a country with which we are in conflict is supplied with weapons; this is always a threat,” Putin said. “As for the question of what these weapons mean for us and how we should evaluate them, of course, we see, hear, and know about these supply plans,” Putin stated in an interview with Pavel Zarubin on the Rossiya-24 television channel.

According to him, the depleted uranium munitions emit radioactive dust in any case, but they are classified among the most harmful and dangerous weapons for humans.

“Not only for the participants in combat operations but also for the environment. For the people living in that area... Experts confirm that after their use in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq, the incidence of cancer among the local population has dramatically increased,” Putin added.

He also stated that Russia is not transferring nuclear weapons to Belarus but is doing what the U.S. has been doing for a decade.

“We are generally doing the same thing they were doing a decade ago. They have allies in certain countries, and there they prepare both the carriers and the personnel. We are going to do exactly the same. This is what Alexander Grigoryevich (Lukashenko) has also requested,” Putin said.

He added that the construction of a tactical nuclear weapon storage facility in Belarus will be completed by July 1.

It should be noted that the UK Deputy Defense Secretary Anabel Goldie announced that Britain will supply depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. White House representative John Kirby also assured that the U.S. will not send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. At the same time, he noted that they are confident that these do not pose a radioactive threat; according to Kirby, it is conventional ammunition that has been used for decades.

Commenting on this initiative, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia would be forced to respond if the collective West begins to use weapons with nuclear components.