UNITED NATIONS, April 27. /TASS/. The UN is concerned about the usage of depleted-uranium munitions anywhere in the world, including in Ukraine, Farhan Haq, a deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said at a news conference on Thursday.

He was responding to a question about statements by the UK Defense Ministry about transferring such munitions to Kiev.

"You're well aware of our concerns about the uses of depleted uranium anywhere in the world, and those would apply here," he said.

The spokesman was also asked to comment on whether the UK should clean up any fallout from the usage of such munitions. He referred the question to the UK government.

UK Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey said on Tuesday that the UK had sent Ukraine thousands of rounds for Challenger 2 tanks, including depleted-uranium rounds. He admitted the UK wouldn’t be keeping track of their use and hadn’t taken on any commitments to sort out any after-effects that result from their use after the end of the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 21 that the plans to supply depleted-uranium rounds were testimony of the West’s plan to wage war on Russia to the last Ukrainian, not in word, but in deed. The president said Russia would be forced to respond to such moves, adding that the country has hundreds of thousands of such munitions, it just hasn’t used them yet.