DISINFO: UK transfer of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine is a genocide
SUMMARY
By and large, the use of depleted uranium projectiles is a manifestation of genocide against the population where these weapons are used, and against the population that uses them.
RESPONSE
A pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that the UK prepares genocide against the Ukrainian, as well as, the Russian population with the weapons supplied to counter Russian aggression.
On the 6th March 2023, the UK Government confirmed that:
"Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition, including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles".
Depleted uranium shells are not considered to be nuclear weapons.
Genocide is the crime of intentionally destroying part or all of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, by killing people or by other methods. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word γένος (genos, "race, people") with the Latin suffix -caedo ("act of killing").
The use of depleted uranium projectiles cannot be qualified in any way as genocide. The intent of using such a weapon is to kill or incapacitate enemy soldiers that are protected by significant shielding.
Depleted uranium has a higher density than ordinary steel; about 2,5 times and about 1,5 times more dense than lead. This allows a tank shell to gain more momentum and penetrate armour more effectively.
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.
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