MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Britain's statements about supplying depleted uranium shells to Ukraine look especially shameless ahead of the anniversary of the bombings of Yugoslavia, where such munitions were used, the chief of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection force, Igor Kirillov, said on Friday.

"The statement made by Britain’s Minister of State for Defense, Annabel Goldie, looks particularly shameless if one remembers that it was made almost on the eve of the latest anniversary of NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999, when the alliance's operation codenamed Angel of Mercy began. The order to coalition forces to start the bombing was given by NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana. He argued that the operation was ‘humanitarian,’" Kirillov told a news briefing on the consequences of supplying the Kiev regime with depleted uranium munitions.

An armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile is an artillery shell with a diameter less than the caliber of a gun’s barrel. They are used for hitting tanks and other armored targets, as a rule, at point-blank ranges, Kirillov explained.

"Depleted uranium is a common name for a metal consisting of more than 90% uranium-238 isotopes and less than 1% uranium-235 isotopes. The choice of depleted uranium for making the core of such ammunition is due to its high density, which ensures the high armor-piercing effect. When such a shell hits the target, the shell’s hull made of mild steel falls apart, while its kinetic energy is transferred to the core, enabling it to penetrate the armor," Kirillov said.

He noted that tungsten alloys had similar parameters, but ammunition made using them was far costlier.

"I would like to highlight the fact that munitions containing depleted uranium do not have a significant advantage over tungsten ones in the context of modern military warfare," he concluded.