LONDON, April 25. /TASS/. Britain has sent to Ukraine thousands of shells for Challenger 2 tanks, including those with depleted uranium, but it does not monitor their use and has no obligation to eliminate the consequences of their use once the conflict is over, Secretary of State for Defense James Heappey said in his written responses to questions from Scottish MP Kenny MacAskill of the Alba Party.

"We have sent thousands of rounds of Challenger 2 ammunition to Ukraine, including depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds. For operational security reasons, we will not comment on Ukrainian usage rates for the rounds provided," Heappey said.

Asked where exactly these shells would be used, he replied that "British-supplied Challenger 2 tanks and depleted uranium ammunition granted to Ukraine are now under the control of the armed forces of Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense does not monitor the locations from where DU rounds are fired by the Ukrainian army in Ukraine."

In response to another question, Heappey said there was "no obligation on the UK to help clear up depleted uranium rounds fired from Challenger 2 tanks by the armed forces of Ukraine."

At the same time, he mentioned London’s commitment "to helping Ukraine emerge from this war secure, prosperous and free."

On March 20, a written answer from Britain’s Minister of State for Defense, Baroness Annabel Goldie, to a question from a member of the House of Lords 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 had hundreds of thousands of such munitions, but had not used any of them yet.