MINSK, March 22. /TASS/. Moscow "will give a fearsome" response to any potential use by Kiev of depleted uranium munitions, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday.
"As soon as these munitions hit the positions of Russian troops, you will see that there will be a fearsome response. It will serve as a lesson to the entire planet," Lukashenko said during a visit to the Khatyn Memorial Complex to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the massacre of civilians by Nazi death squads in the Belarusian village of Khatyn.
The Belarusian president pointed out that, "Russia has much more than just depleted uranium." "Russia will provide us with real uranium ammunition," Lukashenko noted, speaking of a hypothetical possibility. "If they (Western officials - TASS) have gone mad, then they will pull the trigger on this process. That’s what is most frightening and most dangerous. So, everyone needs to take a step back away from sheer madness," he added.
On Monday, British Defense Minister Annabel Goldie said, in a written response to an inquiry by a member of the House of Lords, that the British authorities would provide Ukraine with shells containing depleted uranium, which were particularly effective against armored vehicles. The British Ministry of Defense called depleted uranium "a standard component" of munitions and noted that "the British army has used depleted uranium in its armor piercing shells for decades." Moreover, the ministry described Moscow’s reaction to London’s plans as a deliberate disinformation ploy.
The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom warned London against sending such munitions to Kiev. The embassy stressed in a statement that the step was fraught with the risk of further escalation and the use of such ammunition would negatively affect the health of local residents.