DISINFO: NATO intervention in Serbia proved that depleted uranium shells are comparable to a dirty bomb

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

  • Outlet: kp.ru ( archive #1, archive #2, original )
  • Date of publication: April 04, 2023
  • Article language(s): Russian
  • Countries / regions discussed: Ukraine, Serbia, UK

AI translations:

DISINFO: NATO intervention in Serbia proved that depleted uranium shells are comparable to a dirty bomb

SUMMARY

The West carries out the genocide of the Ukrainian people: English uranium shells for Kyiv risk provoking a second Chernobyl.

NATO prefers depleted uranium shells. This is highly radioactive uranium. Enriched uranium is used to make the atomic bomb. This uranium cannot be used to produce nuclear weapons.

NATO dropped 15 tons of such ammunition on Yugoslavia. And there, the indicators of pediatric oncology 20 years later doubled the European level.

RESPONSE

Part of Kremlin’s disinformation campaign against the supply of depleted uranium to Ukraine. Russia uses this alleged high environmental risk to sabre-rattle with its nuclear arsenal.

The depleted uranium shells UK MoD is sending to Ukraine are not prohibited by any international agreement.

The EU assessment by the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks describes the risks as follow:

DU munitions which hit the ground bury themselves in the soil, where the uranium oxidises and dissolves over years or decades. Over time, the uranium is removed from near the impact site. Total amounts are not high enough to add significantly to the natural uranium background.

Surveys of DU residues from combat zones show generally low concentrations of the metal, within the range of naturally occurring uranium, though there may also be a small number of "hot spots”.

Urine samples from serving soldiers and from civilians living in areas where DU ammunition has been used, typically indicate very low levels of DU exposure.

In 2007, the UN General Assembly launched a study to find out the health effects of depleted uranium weapons. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) found no significant poisoning was caused by exposure to depleted uranium.

The false narrative about Serbians suffering from cancer because of NATO's use of depleted uranium shells in 1999 became recurrent on the background of the Russia's invasion of Ukraine, since Russia blames the West which "forced" Russia to invade. See also: "always blame the West" disinformation trend.

In 2015, the Coordinator of the Serbia's Ministry of Health for Oncology and Director of the Institute of Oncology and Radiology, Prof. Dr. Radan Dzodic, reported that Serbia is in 18th place in Europe in terms of cancer incidence, but unfortunately still ranks second in Europe in terms of mortality, right after Hungary.

But, according to Dzodic, this cannot be connected with the consequences of the bombing of Kosovo with depleted uranium ammunition, used in 1999 during the NATO operation in southern Serbia. "A lot of people have cancer in Finland, France or Ireland, but these countries have been steadily reducing cancer deaths over the past three decades, and that's why we see such statistics. There are areas in Kosovo that have been bombed more than others with depleted uranium munitions. But not a single serious investigation has turned up any evidence that these territories have a higher incidence of cancer." says Dr. Radan Dzodic.

Read also related cases: UK delivery of depleted uranium tank shells will lead to a nuclear catastrophe, UK will supply Ukraine with taboo genocidal weapons.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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