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Depleted uranium shells to have serious health effects on military who use them — minister

Earlier on Monday, UK Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said in her written response to an inquiry by Member of the House of Lords Raymond Jolliffe that British authorities will send shells to Ukraine that contain depleted uranium and that feature improved efficiency against armored vehicles
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu  Alexei Maishev/POOL/TASS
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu
© Alexei Maishev/POOL/TASS

MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Munitions with depleted uranium will have a serious negative effect on the health of servicemen who use them, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said.

In a fragment of an interview to the Rossiya-1 TV, released via Telegram by journalist Pavel Zarubin, Shoigu said NATO had already used such munitions "during the [1999] events in Kosovo, Serbia." A subsequent investigation into their use revealed that the health of servicemen, who used them, was seriously harmed.

"There were consequences. There were consequences for the health of those who used those munitions. There were serious health conditions, and they were studied. However, they did not examine what kind of effect the munitions had on those against whom they were used," the Russian minister added.

Earlier on Monday, UK Minister of State for Defense Annabel Goldie said in her written response to an inquiry by Member of the House of Lords Raymond Jolliffe that British authorities will send shells to Ukraine that contain depleted uranium and that feature improved efficiency against armored vehicles.

The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom warned London against supplying Kiev with such munitions. According to Russian diplomats, this step is fraught with risks of further escalation of the conflict. Radioactivity, high toxicity and carcinogenicity of such weapons are well-known, the embassy added.