DISINFO: The destruction of British missiles with depleted uranium created a huge radioactive cloud
SUMMARY
The destruction of British missiles, with depleted uranium ammo, kept in Ukraine's Khmelnitsky arsenal has created a huge radioactive cloud. Depleted uranium weapons were invented to ensure that the territory of the rogue state of the day remains unhealthy even when the military aggression is officially over.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin narrative claiming that weapons delivered to Ukraine for the defence of its territory will turn into a disaster for Western populations due to radiation issues. Russia uses this alleged high environmental risk to sabre-rattle with its nuclear arsenal.
Great Britain delivered depleted uranium shells to Ukraine and even though Russia has and uses similar ammunition, it was described in Russian outlets as a crime against humanity, or a genocide.
On the night of May 12-13, a warehouse in Khmelnitsky, western Ukraine, was bombed by a Russian drone. According to satellite data from the Planet tool, a storage warehouse for old Soviet munitions was hit. However, it is impossible to confirm that the weapons destroyed contained depleted uranium. The GeoConfirmed account believes, for example, that it is impossible to assess what exploded.
Read the full debunk on TF1 (in French).
Depleted uranium shells are not considered to be nuclear weapons.
The EU assessment by the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks describes the risks as follows:
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.
Read similar cases claiming that radiation from depleted Uranium ammo in Ukraine approaches Europe, that the West wants to turn Ukraine into a radioactive graveyard, that London wants to scorch the earth with uranium shells in Ukraine, that the use of depleted uranium shells is a crime against humanity, and that the French government systematically lied to the population.