TOKYO, April 24. /TASS/. A group of Japanese public figures on Monday launched a signup campaign on the online platform change.org against Britain's supply of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. So far, the petition has collected about 100 signatures.
In particular, the protesters call on Japan, which currently chairs the Group of Seven, to make a statement at the upcoming summit of the association in Hiroshima "on the inhumanity of the use of both depleted uranium and nuclear weapons" in order to draw international attention to the problem.
Britain should stop supplying depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine and immediately withdraw those already provided. Ukraine should drop the idea of using depleted uranium munitions supplied by Britain. Depleted uranium munitions are likely to harm health, including the health of Ukrainian soldiers and the population, while contamination will make post-war reconstruction even more difficult, the accompanying message reads.
Among those who launched the collection of signatures are members of Japanese anti-nuclear organizations, university professors and former Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka. Earlier, the national Japanese association Nihon Hidankyo, which unites various organizations of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, spoke against sending depleted uranium munitions to Kiev.
The G7 leaders will meet in Hiroshima on May 19-21.
Supplies of depleted uranium munitions
On March 20, a written answer from Britain’s Minister of State for Defense, Baroness Annabel Goldie, said that the authorities would supply Ukraine with shells that contained depleted uranium and had an increased efficiency in destroying armored vehicles. On March 27, Declassified UK, a portal specializing in investigative journalism, reported that British instructors were training Ukrainian tank crews in the use of depleted uranium munitions.
On March 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plans for supplying depleted uranium munitions demonstrated the West's intention to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian. He noted that Russia would have to respond; it has hundreds of thousands of such munitions, but has not used any of them yet.